Be Alright
by roxystyle011
Summary: A sob session in the 2nd floor bathroom leaves Rachel wanting to tend to Quinn's insecurities against the blonde's wishes; and neither of them realizes that suddenly Quinn has become Rachel's knight in invisible armor. Faberry.
1. Chapter 1

Sobs echo throughout the deserted hallway, it's a rather eerie sound, being able to hear someone in so much pain but having no idea where it was stemming from. Surely it's a girl and as I make my way slowly down the hallway hawk-eyed, I'm growing more and more confident that it's coming from the girl's bathroom. I'm not even supposed to be in the hallway at this moment, the only reason I'm back is because I left a textbook that I need to use in order to complete a silly homework assignment. Come to think of it, I haven't run into a janitor yet so I briefly wonder if it could be the beastly female janitor that is crying rather loudly in the bathroom, lord knows I would probably cry too if I was almost 40 and still living in Lima as a Janitor. The idea of living in Lima after high school alone could make me cry, and not just because I'm trained to cry on cue. Still, a part of me hopes that _if _I _ever_ allowed such a travesty to happen to my future self that someone would comfort me, even if it was just a simple pat on the back. It would be better than nothing. I'm no stranger to weep sessions in the 2nd floor bathroom, they're all too familiar to me; and although I would be mortified if someone cared enough to comfort me, I sometimes just wish that someone would care at all. Depressing I know, but my life isn't all that bad. I do have things going for me, which is why I can't allow these thoughts to discourage me. Once my name is in lights, it will have all been worth it, or so I tend to tell myself.

I've been shrugging a lot which is something my acting coach has me doing, in case I should ever land the role of an aggravated delinquent who uses shrugging to communicate their indifferences. I plan on perfecting the technique by my next acting session; I shrug to myself as I shut my locker door. I make my way down the hall, I've already done my good deed of the day when I helped Tina hit her high note, but Daddy says there is always room for more good deeds. He'll be thrilled when we discuss this over dinner later tonight; we always talk about our days in excruciating detail. So here I stand, just outside the wooden door, bracing myself for the extremely awkward, uncomfortable, and potentially rewarding acting experience that I'm about to put myself in.

What I find instead surprises me, so much so that I'm unable to communicate to my legs that I need to get the heck out of this situation. There on the floor is one very broken Quinn Fabray, knees to her chest and head down, crying rather vehemently. The tiny blonde has no idea anyone is in the small room with her, let alone that it's someone she despises so thoroughly, that is until she hears the wooden door close behind me. I curse the janitor for not fixing the spring mechanism on the heavy door, not that it would have helped me avoid this predicament in the first place. She looks up sharply, her eyes redder than the red cheerleading uniform that she normally adorns, I'm thankful she's not wearing it, something about it intimidates me. She glares at me, I clearly look as shocked as I feel, her staring tactics normally work on me, and I know she is hoping to scare me out of the bathroom. However, there is nothing normal about this situation. I can easily tell by her face that breaking down on the bathroom floor was not a part of her plan, and I'm guessing that getting caught after she had her breakdown wasn't part of the plan either. She is embarrassed, and when Quinn Fabray is embarrassed, she is wicked.

"What are you doing in here?" she asks, venom lacing throughout every word she speaks.

It's nothing I haven't heard before, but for some reason, I'm frightened more so than I usually am. A set of strange emotions rise through me, sure I'm frightened, but I also feel needed.

I finally close my gaping mouth, and take a timid step backwards just by default. I don't know why the feeling won't leave my body, it's like I can sense that she needs someone and in her state might even settle for someone like me. No, it's almost as if she wants it to be me. The small voice in the back of my head is laughing at me, she hates me. Our history provides more than enough examples for validation of this fact even though I have never done anything specifically to her. Sure I told her boyfriend Finn that the baby Quinn was carrying wasn't his, but that was for a different reason entirely, Quinn was just wounded in the cross fires, my intent was never to hurt her. I know the spitfire blonde doesn't like me, it's about as clear as a Windexed window, and still I can't turn my back on her, no matter how badly this cheerleader has burned me in the past.

"I heard crying" I barely choke out, my voice is lower than I remember it being a few minutes ago, I chalk it up to being afraid that anything louder will enrage the blonde even further. "Are you all right?"

Quinn's sniffle lets me know that she is in no way all right, the back of her sleeve comes up to wipe the tears that seem never ending.

"I'm fine" she replies in that nasally tone, the one where I know she's lying. That and the fact that she hasn't made any effort to bring herself to her feet, "You can go now" she tells me slowly, annunciating each word.

I study her as she sits on the floor, she finds it hard to look back, the second her hazel eyes leave mine, I know that I can't possibly leave her alone.

With some newfound courage, I take another step into the room, "You don't look fine"

One step turns into two and before I can stop myself, I'm sitting on the floor next to Quinn. I wrap my arms securely around her fragile and shaking form and to my surprise and without hesitation Quinn throws her own arms around my waist, she gathers some of my clothing under her fists.

After a few minutes of listening to her cries, I begin to worry that this isn't something that is just going to pass. I'm deeply concerned, whatever made Quinn cry has been building up for some time now, people don't normally cry like this for any reason. Her head is tucked neatly under my chin as she's hunched over, her body practically melds into mine without effort, I try not to smile at the realization. I know that this is no time to think of such things, but I've always felt that Quinn was far too pretty to cry. It's painful to see her disheveled like this, it's heartbreaking to witness, and it's bothering me that Quinn doesn't care that her dress is getting ruined by the grimy floor. Quinn's confidence is nowhere in sight, she's an utter mess and I try to swallow down the realization that her only lifeline is me, Rachel Berry.

I decide to just continue on with the only thing that I can do for her in this moment, what I would want someone to do for me, rub small circles on her back and whisper her shushes, hopefully the combination will get her to calm down. Eventually Quinn's tears subside and I'm not sure if it is because of my soothing words or for the shear fact that she is all cried out.

"Your voice really is beautiful" she whispers out into the silence that we've created.

I blush immensely; I didn't even know that I was singing. How horribly embarrassing of me.

Quinn's head stays in its position on my lap for a few minutes longer, her hands are—I think—absentmindedly playing with the hem of my skirt, while I just continue to run my fingers through her blonde waves. I'm still afraid to break the delicate silence. I know that she was the first one to speak, and with a compliment of all things, but I'm afraid that once she remembers it's me with her, this fragile moment will be just a distant memory.

"Why do you do that?" Quinn's raspy voice breaks the peaceful air.

I clear my throat, "Do what?"

"Not listen. You stayed, when I told you to go"

For once there is no malice, no conviction, it just _was_. I take in her statement, desperately searching for an answer that will appease her, searching for an answer that I'm not sure even I can describe.

"You needed someone" I reply, the room falls into a silence once again.

Quinn shuffles and begins to sit up, it takes her a few seconds to get the cloudy look out of her eyes, her vision is most likely slightly dizzy and I imagine her head is pounding from crying for so long. She studies her fingers, almost as if she's ashamed of herself. If only I can find the words to let her know that she has nothing to be ashamed of.

She barely scoffs, "I would have left"

"I know" I whisper softly, she would have been gone in a heartbeat; I try not to think of how badly the truth hurts me, "I'm also not you"

She looks at me with a ghost of a smile on her lips. In a strange way I know that this is her way of showing that she's appreciative of my existence for once, Quinn would never outwardly say thank you, she is far too stubborn for that. I give a nod to acknowledge her, conveying that I understand everything that she possibly can't speak aloud, not to me at least.

"Did you want to talk about it?" I find myself asking anyway, I tilt my head, hoping to reconnect with her piercing eyes once again.

Quinn can only shake her head no, I'm sure she's afraid that she will start crying again if she thinks too much about the reason she is crying in the first place. She looks up suddenly, a pensive expression on her face, almost as if she's grasping at something, she wants to set the record straight.

"I do want to talk about it" she looks at me, hazel eyes making my breath hitch, "Just not right now"

"I understand"

Somehow I do understand, I also know that one day Quinn will tell me what happened in the bathroom today, twenty minutes ago I never would have expected myself to have such faith in Quinn telling me anything. And I have already decided that I will be there for her when she is ready.

* * *

A ringing phone blares through the stillness of the night, I sit upright in my bed, it's completely dark, I realize that my pink and black _Diva _eye cover is still around my head. I lift it up as I desperately reach for the sound as I do every morning when my alarm goes off. I can't believe that it is already time to get ready for school. Just as I'm about to silence the phone, the ID lights up again nearly blinding me, an unknown number flashes on the screen.

Using logic and reason to the best of my sleep deprived ability, I hit the send key. I have a strange irrational fear that every time the phone rings, the person on the opposite end of the phone is going to tell me that my dog was run over. I know how silly it is, considering I don't even own a dog, but I always expect the worst. I also don't have that many people calling me. So immediately when I hear muffled cries on the other end of the receiver, and I realize that it's nearly three in the morning, my heart attack begins and panic sets in for my imaginary dog Gene Kelly.

"Hello, who is this?" I ask in a hushed whisper.

"I didn't know where else to go"

I can't be sure that is what I just heard; it's fairly difficult to comprehend anything at this hour, let alone someone speaking to me through cries.

"Quinn?" I finally guess, hoping I'm right, for what reason I can't be sure.

The other voice whimpers something jumbled and I'm now very certain that it is in fact the blonde cheerleader on the other end of the line.

"What's the matter? Where are you? Is it Gene?"

I shake my head, irrational Rachel needs to learn when to silence herself. I couldn't help but go from confused to alarmed in less than milliseconds once it was confirmed that it was Quinn that was dry heaving into the receiver.

Finally it seems that she can produce an answer coherently enough, "Outside"

I shoot out of bed and walk over to my window; sure enough I can see a small red car parked on the opposite side of my street.

"Stay there" I tell her before I hang up.

I don't even worry about finding shoes, or care about covering up my scarcely clothed body, I have one thing on my mind in this moment and that is Quinn Fabray.

I sneak down the stairs and out of my house in record time; I walk briskly towards the car that appears to already be off.

I can see that she's still in the car so I grab the handle and luckily it's already unlocked, I didn't feel like fighting her to let me inside. I slide myself in so that I'm sitting in the passenger seat, I turn to see her scared of what I will find, red eyes and tear stained cheeks is what greets me. I reach across the center console, not caring about formalities or that I'm in her personal space for the second time today. I'm able to wrap my arms around her; Quinn almost immediately does the same upon the contact. Her grip on me only tightens with time, my grip matches hers.

Wordlessly, I get out of the car after what feels like an eternity and walk around to the driver side door, opening it to reach in and pull the cheerleader out. The blonde doesn't fight me once and we are sitting on my bed in no time, the only light in the room is coming from the walk in closet.

Quinn is sitting with one leg dangling off of the bed, the other tucked neatly under her leg. Her knuckles have already been cracked and cracked again but it doesn't stop her from continuing to try, her gaze is far off, and she is still dressed in her clothing from the previous day. Surprisingly her pale yellow sundress doesn't seem to be ruined by the disgusting bathroom floor as I originally anticipated, I briefly wonder if she knew that it wouldn't be harmed.

After she declines my proposal for a glass of water—twice, I decide to join her on the bed, I'm unsure of how to begin prodding the information out of the torn girl.

"Puck and I got into a fight this morning" Quinn suddenly breaks the silence.

I sit up a little straighter, giving my full attention her.

"Is this the reason that has you so upset?" I ask after it was clear that she wasn't going to further elaborate.

"Yeah" she sighs almost simultaneously, "No"

This time I know better and bite my cheek in order to allow the girl to speak when she can conjure up the words she wants to say.

"I hate my life" she finally says, painfully honest, it breaks my heart into pieces.

I so badly want to interject and list hundreds of reasons as to why the girl is completely insane for thinking something like this. How could she believe that she doesn't have everything going for her, that there aren't thousands of people in Lima that envy her. That I envy everything about her. I model my confidence and stride off of her flawlessness, I can only hope to be as beautiful as her one day. I stay silent.

Quinn laughs, almost satanically, "You have _no_ idea what it's like to have all of this pressure"

I want to retort with something along the lines of 'of course I do' but I think better of it, this isn't about me for once.

"Is Noah pressuring you?" I ask, I'm immediately upset and disappointed in the boy if this is the case.

She laughs eerily again, it sends a chill down my spine, I look down, it could have been because I'm still half naked in my silk nightgown.

"It's not just him" she replies before sniffling.

Before I can stop myself, I'm reaching out to rub the girls back, hoping that I can give her some of the courage she is suddenly lacking.

"My dad wants to come back home" she finally says.

A gasp escapes my mouth before I knew I was producing one. I'm in no way close to Quinn but I faintly understand her past and what had happened to her while she was pregnant. I learned through Finn and some of the other Glee members about what the cheerleader had to endure. I admired her perseverance through it all. It's then that I realize how big of a deal this is for her.

"What has your Mom said?"

She scoffs, "She's willing to forgive my father, she's waiting for my answer, they're both waiting for my answer"

I understand what kind of pressure this puts on the fragile girl, after all, it is up to her whether or not their family could be salvaged and put back together again.

"I can't" she barely chokes out, "I can't look at him and not hate him for the things that he's done" her gaze is once again far off, I instantly recall her using the same tone with me after I revealed to Finn the real father of the baby, it's unmistakable.

I still don't know how to console her, so I continue to just rub her back and shoulders.

"I have Puck, but he's slipping away. If I don't have sex with him, he'll be gone"

"Oh I'm sure that's not true" I cut in, giving the boy some credit.

Quinn turns sharply towards me, I wince expecting a lash out, she must have seen my reaction because her features are soft when I open my eyes again, "No he will, he told me today" she says sadly.

I nod, understanding where her breakdown earlier in the bathroom probably stemmed from.

"I hate cheerleading" she continues to list the things off, "I'm going to be stuck in Lima until I die, I'll probably be a Janitor or lunch lady." She continues.

I can't help but smile softly to myself.

"I won't let that happen to you" I tell her softly, meaning every word, "Cheerleading isn't everything, and forget Puck, you can have anyone that you want. As for your Dad, he'll have to prove to you that he's worth your time"

"I have no real friends"

"Brittany and Santana love you"

Quinn finally shows me a glimpse of a smile; she's amused with my ability to have an answer for everything, a quality I'm sure she used to hate. Her smile turns into a frown almost immediately.

"I wish I kept my baby" she lets out, I can tell she's never said it aloud before. The way her voice breaks and cracks is evidence of that. Now that the words are hanging in the air between us, Quinn's body shakes with silent sobs. "Oh god"

I scoop her crying body into my arms, I don't care that her tears are soaking my bare shoulder, I don't hate the fact that I'm whispering in her ear that everything will be okay. I care that I'm starting to let my guard down when I'm with her, and I hate the fact that I'm telling her everything will be okay even though I'm not sure that it will be. I sing softly to her to cover up my own doubts about everything, hoping for just a moment, I can give her the hope that she needs.

* * *

**What do we think? Worth it?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks for your intrigue in this story, I hope it delivers! Oh, and Happy Glee Premiere Night!**

* * *

I walk down the hallway, well it's more like a bounce, I bounce through the halls. It could be because I barely got any sleep last night, but I was feeling refreshed, vibrant. Perhaps it's because of the prospect of making a new friend, or maybe it was because _the_ Quinn Fabray confided in me some of her deepest and darkest secrets that I'm sure no one else knew about. Even if other people did know about these things, I still can't help but feel privileged to be let past the 50 foot high brick wall that Quinn keeps around her at all times, and that's after you get past the invisible force field. I've yet to see the cheerleader today; I haven't seen her since we both voluntarily laid down on my bed, tired of sitting upright. She was securely tucked into my body when I finally allowed my heavy eyelids to close for good. My arm was still around her body regardless of how many times I attempted to move it away when I thought she'd had enough of the patterns I was drawing in order to soothe her. Quinn surprised me when she would shift, let out a whine and blindly find my arm in order to bring it back to the spot it had previously been in. When I woke up her perfume was still lingering in the air, it was just about the only evidence I had that it wasn't just a dream, that and the still warm spot next to me letting me know she must have left moments before I woke. I wasn't so much disappointed as I was anxious to see how she would act towards me in school today; knots have been in my stomach since I stepped into this building early this morning. It's almost lunch time and I'm quite excited about the homemade salad that I made for lunch.

I shut my locker; I chance a look down both ends of the hallway, an army of red breaks through the crowd ceremoniously. Quinn is in the middle of the pack and rightfully so. Her hazel eyes meet mine and I feel like I've been knocked off my feet, her gaze is deep and penetrating. I want to smile, I try to smile. A rush of cold hits my face before I can do anything, effectively paralyzing all of my movements. It's icy, it's sticky, and it's painful, in more ways than one. The humiliation I feel is probably the worst part; my eyes are down on the floor, my head lowers, allowing most of the red gook to slide off of my body like it always does. The dripping subsides so I look up towards my onlookers, wishing myself to be anywhere but in this claustrophobic tunnel. The entire hallway is giggling at how pathetic I look; it hurts more than I care to admit. I can't make out the face of the owner of the trademark varsity jacket that is holding the inconveniently large _big gulp_ cup; I have a feeling I know who the culprit is though. My eyes zoom in on Quinn, I almost forgot that she had just witnessed the entire thing, she's not laughing, and it's almost worse. She's acting like she doesn't even know who I am, like she's completely unaffected by everything that just happened. I don't know why I feel that it's worse than her laughing at me, maybe it's because at least then she would be acknowledging me.

I don't let another moment waste before I'm practically running in the opposite direction of the mob scene that I was just the main attraction of, I can't even bother to care about where I'm going. I find the first bathroom and I just want to take refuge in here for the rest of the day, I know I can't but it doesn't hurt to wish. The bell rings loudly, signaling that classes are about to start. I sigh; my homemade salad that I was so excited for seems so insignificant now. I made a vow to myself long ago that I wouldn't cry over things as petty as this, but something about today's humiliation seems different from the other days, it was far more upsetting. If I'm honest with myself, I know it's because of Quinn's reaction, I don't know why I was hoping for her to at least look somewhat sympathetic, and after all that happened yesterday. I don't stay up until four in the morning listening to people's problems for my health; I thought we were forging a friendship. Sadly I'm mistaken. Against my better judgment, there's still a sliver of my being that still holds hope for the blonde. Images and flashes of Quinn rushing into the bathroom to rescue me from my shame are playing in my over imaginative mind. I hate that I'm such a believer in far-fetched fantasies; it's been nearly ten minutes and all I feel is foolish. Quinn doesn't care about me, the sooner I get that into my head, the sooner I can forget this horrible day. I study myself in my mirror and see that at least my tears are dry, I glance down at the sink, noticing my knuckles are white as I grip the sink. I slowly relieve my hands of their tension and finally the staring contest with myself is over.

I begin my ritual clean up preparation, not leaving out my Tony Award acceptance speech for best lead actress in a musical, I make sure to thank the kids of McKinley High for never believing in me. Without their doubts I would have never made it. I smile as I'm transformed into an older version of myself, a successful Broadway singer about to sign a multi-million dollar contract after being cast in the lead role of Spring Awakening the Movie, the role I was born to play. I feel calm, sometimes my far-fetched fantasies are able to bring me solace and I'm grateful for that. I'm finally satisfied with my appearance as most of the corn syrup is out of my hair, and now I can move onto stage two, wardrobe change. It helps to mask to reality of it all by using humor and theatre vocabulary. I eye my homemade salad, gnawing on my lip pensively. This morning when I made it, I imagined myself chewing happily while I sat at the Glee table, Quinn stealing shy looks when she thought I wasn't paying attention. I sigh, grab the Tupperware and go to the empty choir room where I can sulk in my embarrassment before I have to put on a showbiz face, and it's emotionally draining most days.

* * *

Something like this has never happened before, the color is entirely drained from my face, I never thought I'd be here in the same fashion as I was earlier. It hurts. I look down to my clothes, ruined. I can faintly hear the last bell of the day, which means that I've spent almost 40 minutes in this small confined bathroom, 40 more minutes out of my day that I have to feel sorry for myself because nobody else does. My stomach turns at the thought of my father's face when he discovers not one, but two outfits were ruined today. I can't bear the look of sadness when he realizes that his little gold star doesn't shine as brightly anymore and how could I possibly shine when so many people want to cut off my light supply. I take deep even breaths, hoping to calm my cries. I keep coming back to the look on my parent's face, I know they're embarrassed but they'd never admit it, their pained features breaks my already broken heart. I wonder how much longer I can take this torture before I snap, no one should be afraid to walk down the hallways of their own school; no one should have to have their personal space be so violated day in and day out. The thought of having to bring three outfits to school each morning makes me sick to my stomach to the point where I think I'm about to throw up, I can feel saliva in my mouth loosen, a tell tale sign that my stomach content is about to come back up. I fight off the feeling, I desperately search for my happy place, I continue my deep breathing as I try to focus on the famous people that will be at my dinner parties one day. Do I use the wine that Beyonce gave me as a gift? The paparazzi that hides behind the bushes thinks that I'm dumb because he doesn't seem to believe that I'm perceptive enough to know he's there. I wonder if one day I'll be as affected by the tabloid rumors as I am about getting slushied everyday. I still haven't decided which would be worse. The slam of the door breaks me out of my musings.

"Rachel?"

My head shoots up once I hear my name, my vision is slightly blurry which is to be expected but I know exactly who it is. I grimace when I see her face, I feel my saliva loosen again and it gets worse when I realize that she's the one making me sick to my stomach.

"Leave me alone" I've never heard my words come out in such a fashion, I wince at the cruelness behind them, I wonder if I've finally snapped.

Quinn winces as well; it almost makes me want to take my words back, almost. Her eyes are all over me, taking in my appearance, I feel so violated.

"Have you been in here since lunch?" she asks

Since lunch? I can't help but laugh; I was stupid to think that maybe the blonde didn't know it was me that got slushied. I look to the floor at the small drops of color on the grimy tiles, my hands are still gripping the sink incase my knees decide to give out again, "I've never been slushied twice in one day before" I reply dryly.

The reaction she has is not expected, her hand comes up to cover her mouth, her eyes wide, even a gasp escapes her mouth. She's either truly shocked or a phenomenal actress, I growl at the thought of her being a better actress than me. She takes a few steps forward, I panic. I panic worse than if it was a stranger following me down a dark deserted road. My heart hammers in my chest, my air is gone, and I can't believe I have this reaction to her. I'm scared of her. I hold out my pointer finger, it appears as though she's dismissing the gesture. Figures, why would the head cheerleader listen to anything.

I find my voice, "Don't come near me" I'm broken, and she can hear it in my voice when she stops short.

"Rach—" For a brief moment I see panic on her face as well.

"Please just go" I barely choke out.

Quinn almost concedes to my request, she turns to leave defeated before spinning back around to look at me.

"Is this some kind of trick? You're telling me to leave to see if I'll stay?" she asks softly.

While my heart swells at the thought of her attempting to figure me out, at least caring enough to figure me out, it's not enough to keep down the bile in my throat.

"Some kind of trick?" I ask , "I'm not some kind of game Quinn"

She begins to backtrack on her words at my reaction, stumbling over syllables, her demeanor so obviously uncharacteristic. I'm willing her to say something, anything that will make me feel better, but at the same time I don't even want to give her the chance.

"I know, I—"

"Just, leave me alone please. Besides, you're pretty good at pretending I don't exist" I cut her off, not caring about how cold I sound.

Quinn stays silent, hurt flashes through her eyes, regret suffocates her lungs, and for the first time I wish that she was in fact acting. She nods; a tear spills over her eye lid at the movement, without another word she's out the door. It slams behind her and I can't contain the sob that escapes out of me, I got what I wanted, she left. It doesn't feel like I thought it would.

* * *

My eyelids droop closed, the heaviness is something I can't deny any longer. I muster up a bit more strength and glance at the clock, nearly eleven o'clock on a Saturday night. I wish I wasn't such a loser. I guess I'm happy that an appropriate hour of sleep has finally arrived; 8pm would have just been pathetic.

Visions swirl around in my head, I know I'm about to fall asleep because none of the thoughts in my head are coherent, sometimes it scares me when I'm about to fall asleep because I can feel it happening. I realize that my fears don't have time to escalate because normally within seconds I'm sound asleep, dead to the outside world.

I hear the familiar sound of Bette Midler's voice in her classic rendition of _You Don't Own Me_, it's a liberating song that I find myself humming more and more these days. While I can never curse the icon that is Bette Midler, I let the profanity escape my lips anyway. I sigh and reach over to my nightstand, I study the unknown number for a bit, it's not one that I've seen before, the odds that Gene Kelly was hit by a car are nil, maybe someone wants to hang out.

I flip open the cell phone before the ringing stops, "Hello?"

"Berry? It's Santana" the girl whispers harshly.

I sit straight up; my confusion goes to worry in record time.

"Is everything okay? How did you get this number?"

"Quinn had it in her phone"

My heart flutters at the mention of the blonde's name; I push aside the betraying feeling to get to the bottom of this strange call.

"Why are you whispering?" I ask, even though I'm extremely overtired, I'm still quite perceptive.

"Quinn doesn't know I'm calling you"

Once again, this nervous feeling is leaving my mouth dry.

"Is everything okay?" I ask again, hoping the panic in my voice is masked when I clear my throat.

"Frankly? No."

"I'm not sure I understand why you're calling me" I swallow.

Thoughts race through my mind, my heart drops when I think about the worst case possible scenarios, all surrounding Quinn. Suddenly a Gene Kelly phone call doesn't seem half as frightening.

"Q locked herself in the bathroom over an hour ago and refuses to come out" she tells me bluntly, in pure Santana fashion.

"So why call me?" I reiterate.

"Because she won't talk to anyone that isn't you right now, and honestly, it's starting to piss me off"

"I appreciate your concern for your friend but," I close my eyes, hoping to get these words out without her hearing how badly they hurt me, "this doesn't concern me, Quinn is a big girl—"

"Look Berry, I don't care for you all that much, I put up with you for the sake of Glee, understand? Quinn is one of my best friends and for the last two days she's been walking around like a zombie, and hasn't talked about anyone other than you, do you _understand_ now why I'm calling you?" though she may not be the head bitch in charge still, she sure remembered how to play the role.

I clear my throat, "What do you want me to do?" I ask after debating it in my head.

"I'll be at your house in 5 to pick you up"

I don't even get a chance to give her a reply before the line goes dead; I begrudgingly get out of bed and search around for something to wear. My silk nightgown would not cut it this time. I hate that I'm at Quinn's every beck and call regardless of how many times that she's hurt me. Still a part of me can't help but squeal at the thought that Quinn was only talking about me, _me_. She only wants to speak with me.

I sneak down the stairs in the same fashion as a few nights prior, sitting on the steps until I see headlights down the street. Once I'm positive that it's Santana I walk up to the door and slip inside the warm interior, it's a strange feeling being inside of her car. She gives me a tight smile, most likely out of force, and pulls away a moment later. I try to take in my surroundings as clues as to where she's taking me, part of me panics that this is one big scheme in order to get me out of the safety of my home. I pray they're not going to humiliate me when we get to our destination. The other part of me knows that they would never use their friend's distress as bait to get to me, or would they?

"Where are we going?" I ask after some silence.

"Brittany's. Mandatory Cheerios sleepover" She tells me, answering my next question as well.

"Sant—"

"Look, I don't know why she has a sudden fascination with you but I've never seen her like this, so just save whatever you're about to say to me and just say it to my friend okay? I'm not blaming you, she's already blamed herself, but you're the only one that can help her right now"

I close my mouth quickly and sit silent for the remainder of the car ride, we pull into a long drive way and the engine shuts down.

As we walk up the steps to the door Santana speaks up, "She's upstairs in Brittany's bathroom"

The cheerleader pushes open the door and we both make our way up the staircase, Brittany is sitting next to the door with her forehead against it, scratching it with her fingers.

"Quinnie, I'll bake you cookies" the blonde girl promises.

"Anything?" Santana asks the girl as she stands to her feet at our presence.

The blonde shakes her head sadly before looking towards me, "Thanks for coming, you can stay here as long as you need to" She give me a small smile, it breaks my heart.

Santana places a gentle arm around Brittany's shoulders and pulls her close, I envy the motion, "We'll leave you two up here, we'll be in the basement with the rest of the girls if you need anything" she tells me.

Both of them throw me one last sad smile before they shut the bedroom door softly behind them. I put my bag on the bed and sigh; I take a few moments to collect my thoughts while I walk around the room, taking in the sight of her décor. I never thought I would be at a cheerleading sleepover in a thousand years, I never thought I would be in Brittany's house either. I smile at a few of the photos she has framed; mostly they are of her and Santana, a few have Quinn in them. I gaze at one in particular; Quinn's breathtakingly beautiful when she doesn't even try. A photo of the glee club hides behind a few frames and I can't stop the smile that creeps up onto my face, my heart feels warm. I hear a whimper coming from the bathroom, breaking me out of my moment; I remember why I'm here in the first place.

I hesitantly bring my hand to the white door, knocking softly.

"Seriously guys, go away" the irritation in Quinn's voice is so evident.

"It's Rachel" I tell her softly.

I can hear her trademark scoff through the door, "B, seriously if you pretend to be Rachel one more time I'm going to kill you"

I'm struggling to contain my giggles, I find it cute that the girls were trying to lure her out with fake impersonations of me, the weight of the situation comes down on me, "It is me"

"Go away"

Surely Quinn truly believed that it was still Brittany impersonating me. It's time to pull out the heavy artillery.

"Quinn Fabray you open this door right this instant or I will be forced to call your mother, or even worse, sing show tunes until your ears bleed, and I have almost every Spice Girls song in my repertoire"

I hide my smile as I hear the blonde shuffling around in the bathroom, the lock clicks and the door opens a second later to reveal a shocked and crying Quinn. Her eyes are wide and a second later the door slams in my face, the lock clicking once again.

"What are you doing here?" she asks, so closely that it feels like her lips are vibrating off of the door.

I sigh, deciding honesty is always the best policy, "Santana called me" I tell her.

"Dammit S" she hisses to herself, "You shouldn't be here"

"Just like you shouldn't be in the bathroom crying right?" I decide the only way that we will make progress is if I speak in a tone that will resonate with the fierce cheerleader.

After a few moments of silence, I grow impatient, letting her hear my huff of frustration. "Fine, if you're going to be stubborn, I'm not going to waste any more of my precious sleep time on trying to make you feel better. Goodbye Quinn" I say into the door before I take a few steps back toward the main bedroom door, I open it and close it for effect. I tiptoe back towards the bathroom door, hoping that my ploy will work.

"Wait, Rachel" the blonde yells, fiddling with the lock and swinging the door opened, she takes a few steps out into the room to see me smiling at her with my hands behind my back.

Quinn is trying to hide her smile as she can see my triumphant smirk of victory.

"You tricked me" she accuses with no real accusatory tone.

I shrug as I walk over to the bed and take a seat on the edge of it, I don't bother patting the spot next to me, I'll just assume that Quinn will take the hint.

"Why did you come?" she asks

"Despite my better judgment, I do care about you Quinn." I pause to look towards the cheerleader, who is only looking toward the carpet. "Even if you don't care about me"

At my words, her head shoots up, she could get whiplash by how quickly she turned to look at me.

"I do care about you"

I laugh softly, dangling my feet as I study the ceiling, "You sure have a funny way of showing it"

Out of the corner of my eye I can see that she's opening and closing her mouth, speechless.

"Are you going to tell me why I'm here?" I ask once it is clear that the cheerleader has nothing to say for herself.

"Because Santana called you?"

"Because apparently you wouldn't talk to anyone that wasn't me" I tell her.

Hazel eyes are anywhere but on my brown ones as she sits next to me, she is avoiding my gaze and I've just about had enough of her silence.

I turn to grab my bag off of the bed behind me; I'm getting ready to make an actual exit this time, and in theatrical fashion. I feel stupid. I can't believe that I got out of my warm and comfortable bed to tend to someone that is most likely just being overdramatic and stubborn.

Slender fingers clutch around my tiny wrist just as I'm about step down from the edge of the bed, my eyes went directly to the hand that imposed on my personal space and then to the eyes of my trespasser.

"Please don't leave" she says quickly, her eyes wide and fearful.

I snatch my wrist back, uncomfortable with the heat radiating off of her clammy palms. I fold my arms across my chest; I'm ready to hear some sort of explanation.

"I'm sorry" she says softly, "About yesterday" she adds.

I can hardly believe my ears, is Quinn Fabray actually apologizing, and to me?

"I should have stopped Karofsky, or at least followed you into the bathroom" she admits.

I had a feeling that it was the boy that was the culprit of _both_ slushie incidents, I like to chalk it up to either theories that the boy is threatened by me or that he has an insanely difficult time expressing his secret love for me, only able to show his adoration via slushies and insults.

"It was the least I could of done after all you did for me the night before" she says softly, chancing a glance at me in my silent state, probably to see if I was accepting of her apology.

I finally found my voice, "You hurt me" I admit softly, not sure where my courage came from to confess such a thing.

She recoils at my words, or maybe it was the disappointment in my tone.

Quinn lets out a shaky breath, "I'm sorry Rachel"

The regret hangs in the air between us for a few soundless seconds.

I run a wobbly hand through my hair, unsure of what to do or say next.

"Why did you lock yourself in the bathroom?" I ask finally.

Quinn is tracing the lifelines of her palm by the time my question reaches her ears, she takes a deep breath, I hope that she is able to get through her reasoning without breaking down again.

"Puck is out with someone right now"

My hand immediately goes to comfort the blonde's shoulder, before I could tell my brain not to. I'm about to offer her some words of encouragement but she doesn't seem to need them as she presses on.

"My dad was in my kitchen this morning when I woke up, he was in his bathrobe"

The far off look in her hazel eyes is almost that of a serial killer recalling the things that he's done in the past, it's quite unsettling and I'm frightened that this girl is broken beyond repair. I push down the feeling that those words bring and find my strength to speak some words of comfort.

"I'm sorry that you have to be upset about those things Quinn"

She practically scoffs, it confuses me to say the least.

"I'm upset," she pauses leaving me on edge, "that I hurt the only person I wanted to talk to" she says softly, rubbing her palms up and down her sweatpants, a nervous habit I'm presuming.

My heart aches at her confession. I continue to massage her shoulders in an effort to communicate that I was still here and listening.

"I'll leave my home again before I live with my father" she tells me strongly, her voice unwavering for the first time all night.

By the tone alone I can tell that she's the most serious about this statement.

"You're the strongest person I know Quinn" I tell her sincerely, halting my hand and letting it linger on her shoulder, I squeeze it for effect.

For the first time since moving to the bed, hazel eyes turned to meet mine, I can see how grateful she is just by the look that she is giving me. It's saying everything that I know she's too scared to admit.

She laughs quietly under her breath, most likely to ease the serious moment, "I'm glad you're here, but you didn't have to come ya know"

I playfully roll my eyes, "Try telling that to Santana"

Quinn's playful smile turns into a small frown, "Did she threaten you? Hurt you in anyway?" she asks worriedly.

"No, no not at all" I tell her softly, consoling her worries, "I guess she was just concerned about you"

The blonde nods once before sighing, "So I guess you have to go back home huh?"

I frown, I don't want to leave but I know that my fathers will be more than upset with me once they find out that I snuck out of the house, regardless of the reason. I curse myself for not just waking them up and explaining the situation. I weigh my options in my head, my mind may be playing tricks on me but it's almost as if Quinn wants me to stay. I know my fathers have the tendency to have an initial reaction of anger but within minutes I know it will be subsided and they will understand that this was something that I had to do. That it is important to me. I survey Quinn again; her hopeful eyes are not lost on me.

"I guess another hour wouldn't hurt" I shrug knowing I made the right decision when I see how her face lights up at my words.

"Really?" Quinn asks in reassurance, "I promise I'll drive you home whenever you want to leave" she tells me, as if still trying to convince me.

"So, should we go downstairs with the rest of them?" I ask, unsure of what to do next.

I giggle when Quinn doesn't even bother trying to hide her grimace, "Do you want to go downstairs?"

I scrunch up my nose, "I suppose not"

Quinn looks around the room as if something will pop up out of midair for us to do, I know I wouldn't mind just talking to the girl for the next hour, and part of my believes that Quinn feels the same way but will never admit it. Besides, if the conversation turns back down the path of upsetting topics, I wouldn't want to be the reason that she cries again. Her eyes land on the television.

"We could watch a movie?"

I laugh, "Something tells me that Brittany's movie collection consists of made-for-TV children's programs"

Quinn chuckles something angelic as she heaves herself off of the bed, she kneels on the carpet and begins digging through the movies, tossing aside some of the options that I'm assuming matched my prediction.

"Disney?" she peers over her shoulder at me as I got more comfortable on the bed, laying on my stomach, propped up on a pillow.

"I stand corrected. Disney movies are everything that is right with America today. A perfect blend of musical, fantasy, romance, drama, and comedy"

I can tell that the blonde has no idea what to reply with and she smiles anyway, she even allows me to pick out which specific Disney movie I'd like to watch. Of course she vetoes a few of my choices and after 5 minutes we finally settle on watching Beauty and the Beast. I don't mind our light banter, in fact I welcome it. Her orbs dance with amusement as she bickers with me, rolling her eyes when I say something that she disagrees with. I smile at how easily it comes to us.

Quinn mirrors my position on the bed; she lies beside me on a pillow of her own. Both of our heads craned at an awkward angle in order to see the television. I don't realize that I'm humming softly to the music until Quinn turns around, an amused expression on her lips. She's not mad, she's not irritated, she's just content. She gives me a soft smile when I glance over to her to see why she's looking at me; I give her a smile back and she turns away to watch the movie, sighing happily. I can feel my eyes getting heavier and heavier, I will myself to stay awake, to not miss out on this moment of friendship that Quinn and I are sharing. If only I was in my own bed, I'd accept the sleep graciously. However, things don't work out like that. I'm in a foreign bed and very aware of the warm body next to me, curse the sandman for being so inconvenient. I realize my thoughts aren't making sense, I'm out before I can stop myself.

I jolt awake, I'm not sure if it was from my dream or from an exterior factor. The only light illuminating the room is coming from the DVD title screen of Beauty and the Beast, it could have been on loop for hours for all I'd know. Once I realize that I'm not in my room, I panic slightly. It takes me a moment for the events from the previous night to come back to me and once I'm caught up to speed I sigh contently. My eyes drift down to the white afghan blanket that is draped over me, it falls effortlessly as I sit up. It reveals a pale arm across my stomach, I hadn't felt it until I just saw it and now I'm incredibly aware of it burning through my skin as it palms me under my t-shirt. I suck in my breath, my stomach goes inward and I see her fingers involuntarily grasp to find the surface they were just resting on. The sensation overwhelms me. She's calmly sleeping, she's peaceful and she's unaware of her actions and the affect that it's having on me. I can see Brittany's Tinkerbell alarm clock and the time brings me out of my flushed state. I attempt to slide out from underneath her hand without waking her, that thought soon becomes invalid, I need her to drive me home. Without any other options I gently nudge her shoulder to wake her. I hold my breath, hoping that she won't lash out at me for waking her.

Her eyes flutter open, there's a certain warmth swirling around in her orbs, she closes them a second later. She re-opens them, sitting up more alert this time.

"Oh my god" she gasps.

I prepare myself for the backlash I'll get when she freaks out about the fact that we were just sleeping next to each other, but it doesn't come.

She retracts her arm from me, it seems like she's used to doing it. I wonder if she's a cuddler in her sleep, and I know now that this thought will occupy my mind forever. It makes me squirm.

She throws off the cream blanket that was on us, the next thought crosses my mind, did she put the blanket around us? My heart warms again at her small gestures.

"I have to get you home" Quinn says jumping off of the bed, panicking.

I hop off of the bed as well, in any other circumstance I feel as though I would be panicking also. I know I would be in near tears at the thought of how much trouble I am about to be in but something prevents me this time. As hard as I try to understand how upset my father's are going to be with me, I can't help but bring myself to think that this isn't all worth it. To feel her hand on my stomach, to be wrapped up in a cocoon next to her, to wake up to her warm eyes. I shake all feelings out of my head, it's not the time to daydream about the person standing next to me watching me expectantly.

She runs a hand through her blonde strands; even after just waking up they're still perfect. I know she's kicking herself for falling asleep, I'm almost positive that I fell asleep before her, and I know that she was facing away from me when I fell asleep. My thoughts are once again conjuring up images of her turning to face me sometime in the middle of the night, pulling me close to her so that she could get a good night's sleep. I shiver. I don't want her to beat herself up over this, it wasn't her fault and I know she assumes it is.

"It's okay, Quinn" I say softly as we sit idle in front of my house.

The entire car ride was silent, not even the lull of the radio was existent to help drown out both of our inner monologues. I would give anything to find out what's running through her mind right now, if it's something I can help with.

I feel her eyes on me, I can tell she wants to smile at me, but I know that she doesn't believe what I'm telling her.

"Your Dad's are going to kill you, and I'm sure they already hate me as it is" the blonde says sadly.

I attempt to stop the frown from adorning my lips, "They'll understand" I tell her softly.

She's pensive, "Thanks for everything"

"It was my pleasure" I offer back, I just hope that Quinn doesn't dwell any further about this.

I pull at the handle and slide out of her car; I miss the warmth and the scent that captivated every aspect of my senses. I shut the door softly and give her another soft smile which she returns right away. The sun is just beginning to illuminate the sky, it's just before the morning twilight. The dew on the grass is almost present and the birds are beginning to chirp. The air is crisp and it sends goose bumps across my body. I slip inside quietly.

My father greets me as he's walking down the stairs, adjusting his tie. I can tell he's struggling with it so I offer my hands.

He gives me a warm smile and lifts his head so I can see better, I fix it for him and he gives me a kiss on the forehead.

"I covered for you" he tells me with knowing eyes, "Daddy nearly called the cops claiming you had been kidnapped, I told him you went to a friend's after he fell asleep"

I close my eyes, I feel like crying, "Thank you" I whisper.

"Care to tell me where you went without permission?" his voice is still soft, he's amused by the entire situation I can tell.

Part of me thinks that he secretly wants me to be more rebellious, that I'll have a normal teenage life, that the reason I have to stay in on a weekend is because I'm in trouble not because it's by default.

I give him the trademark smirk I got from him, "A friends"

He wiggles his eyebrows and laughs, "I'm glad, next time leave a note okay Sweetheart?"

"Of course Dad, sorry if I made you worry" I tell him giving him a hug.

He kisses the top of my head, "I never worry about you, I'll take you to lunch, you can tell me all about your new friend" he says, and it's moments like this that I love being a Berry.

I make my way up the staircase, I can hear my other father snoring lightly as he wraps himself in his blankets. I get into my room and turn on the light; it's still pretty dark outside. I walk over to the window and notice that the red car is starting to pull away.

I wonder if she waited to make sure I got upstairs okay, I smile to myself and dig through my bag to find my cell phone.

I slide through my contacts until I find the number I'm looking for, I bravely type the keys and hit send.

**Stop worrying, they aren't mad. **

I make myself busy, so I'm not staring at the phone wondering if she's going to reply or not. Almost immediately my phone buzzes, I nearly drop it.

**I hope you're not lying to me Berry…**

**I promise, now get some sleep, you need rest. That's an order Fabray.**

**Haha I'll try, but it might be kind of hard without you here with me. **

My heart stops. It just stops. I wade in the water of indecision as I stare down at the message I found my fingers typing, unsure of whether or not I want to go down the road. Part of me is afraid it's way too forward, more so than her previous text, but part of me will regret it if I don't at least try. I hold my breath and hit send.

**Pretend that I am. **

The phone buzzes almost immediately again, I wait until I turn out the light and slide under my covers before I read it, afraid that her response will either upset me or make my knees go weak.

**That was my plan…sweet dreams**

I'm gasping for air as my fingers run over the words on the screen. I can't breathe, I'm glad that I decided to lay down because my legs feel like they are Jello. I'm not familiar with texting people but I'm almost positive that things like this aren't normal, was she…flirting? The notion makes me laugh but deep in my stomach I can't help but hope that she is. I want to see how much further I can go.

…**I hope so**

I don't get a response for a few minutes, I regret sending it. It's one of those, here's the line and here's me crossing it situations. I cringe at the silence in the early morning, knowing that it was silly for me to be so forward with her. I have no business on this playing field.

My phone buzzes. I may die.

**They will be, I'll meet you there.**

And for the 10th time tonight, this girl makes my heart sing.


	3. Chapter 3

**Hope you enjoy! Thanks for all of your kind words and interest in the story!**

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I shut my locker door, the day couldn't be more glorious if the sun started singing show tunes, silly notion but that's how I feel. I've basically been on cloud 9 since I arrived home early Sunday morning. After sleeping in until around 9:30, I decided to make my father breakfast in bed to apologize for making him worry and assure him that I wasn't kidnapped. He accepted it graciously and we spent the morning together catching up on celebrity gossip and running errands. We met my other father for lunch and I was practically gushing to them all about the time that I spent with Quinn. I left out some of the details, to spare them the images but they seemed generally interested. I toyed with the idea practically all day, whether or not I should text message the blonde that occupied my thoughts. Each time the temptation would rise, I would fight it off, telling myself not to be too eager. As I got ready for bed, my phone buzzed on my night stand. Not getting my hopes up, I continued to fluff my pillows and acted neutral as I walked over to retrieve it, only grinning when I saw that it was from Quinn.

_**New York City**_

My confusion about the message was cleared up when another text buzzed through.

_**That's where we can meet tonight. **_

I giggled to myself; this is probably the cutest thing that has ever happened to me. I broke it down to the fact that it probably helps her sleep better at night. After all, a lot is on her mind.

_**The city is a pretty big place. **_

I waited for her response with bated breath.

_**Well princess, tell me where to meet you in the City and I'll be there. **_

I took my bottom lip between my teeth, jumped into bed and slid under the covers, I thought hard, maybe a little too hard. I pushed the fact that she called me princess to the back of my mind to save it for later.

_**Oh c'mon like you don't know what I'm going to say**_

I teased her, getting more comfortable with the flow of conversation.

_**Haha Broadway it is**_

I roll my eyes, of course she was right.

I'm brought out of memories of the previous night by a quick flash of pain on my face, that's just about the only thing that could have wiped my smile away. I let out of shrill scream; I didn't even see it coming. Normally I have some warning, but I was too lost in my thoughts to even realize it. I was a sitting target. The ice gets into my eyes and it's stinging. I can hear giggles around me and once again I'm 2 feet tall. I habitually train my eyes on the floor so that the slush can drop down off of me, it's blue today. Blue used to be my favorite color.

I hear a crack and what sounds like a growl just a few feet from me, I look up not knowing what to expect. I can't believe my eyes. Slammed up against the locker is David Karofsky, the container that he's holding drops to the floor with deafening sound, against him is head bitch in charge, Quinn Fabray. He's wincing in pain as she pushes him into the locker again, I didn't even know she was anywhere near me. She looks like she's about to punch him in the face, I hope she doesn't, if she gets suspended it will be all my fault. The boy struggles to gain his balance as she gets up into his face, I don't envy his position.

"I'm really sick of you Karofsky, you better stay out of my way, or you're going to have a serious problem" she spat at the boy, she's absolutely raging.

The boy chuckles mockingly, "What? Are you and your pet going to beat me up?" he asks sarcastically, I don't miss the disgust in his tone when he says the word pet, I know it's meant for me.

Quinn shoves him further into the locker, I think he may have hit his head on that one, I grimace.

"Leave. Her. Alone." she speaks through gritted teeth, I've never seen her so venomous.

Santana is behind her, pulling at her shoulders, she's tenses up and it's not until she realizes that it's Santana that she relaxes and allows herself to let go of the boy.

Quinn is breathing heavily as Santana surveys her; she whispers something to her, low enough for me to have to use my imagination. Quinn's head snaps up a second later and her eyes find mine directly. I think for the first time since she's come into this scene she's realized that I've been standing her all along. I can see her features visibly soften, she blinks a few times, her fists finally unclench and she walks toward me.

Beyond her shoulder I can see Santana resume the position that Quinn was just previously in, threatening the boy.

"Listen you piece of shit" she began

Everything else she said was lost on me as I find myself connected with hazel eyes. I disregard the feeling in my neck that signals that I'm about to cry and I ignore the stares from the onlookers.

"Are you alright?" she asks softly, this person is not the same girl from a minute ago.

I shrug and give her a small laugh, because honestly what else can I do in this horribly embarrassing situation, "Nothing I haven't felt before"

"I'm so sorry that I didn't get here sooner" she tells me, I think she's also forgotten about everyone's eyes.

"It's okay"

"It's not" she doesn't miss a beat; it's like she knew what I was going to say.

I close my eyes without control, "You came though. A temporarily bruised ego is better than a broken heart" I tell her honestly.

It really would have broken my heart if she was around and stood by and did nothing. I can't think of it.

Quinn swallows, maybe finally realizing how badly she has hurt me in the past; not only by throwing slushies on me but by not doing anything at all after we were finally in Glee together.

She grabs my wrist as the bell sounds, "C'mon" she pulls me in the opposite direction of the crowd.

"Quinn, you're going to be late for class" I try to tell her as I'm being dragged down the hallway.

She either doesn't hear me or she's choosing not to respond, I'm thinking it's the latter. We reach the bathroom and Quinn goes right over to the paper towel dispenser and begins to collect more than enough sheets of the paper, clearly she's never cleaned up a slushie. I laugh, I'm a seasoned pro. I realize how depressing the statement is but humor is all I have anymore. She wets them with water and she's suddenly standing in front of me so she can gently wipe away the blue stickiness that's starting to dry on my face. I've never seen her act like this.

"You're shaking" I speak softly, after noticing Quinn's hand trembling in front of my eyes.

She swallows, most likely maintaining her composure in front of me; I forget that she has walls up around her when she's at school. I know she's raging on the inside. I swallow some insecurity down and hope that I have some pull over her, the way Santana did moments earlier. My hand sneaks up on her and I gently take hold of her wobbly fingers. The shaking ceases as my palm fully covers her clammy hand, I take the paper towels away from her.

"What's wrong?" I ask her quietly.

She pulls her hand back and begins pacing across the bathroom tiles, she runs her damp hands through her hair, "How can you be so calm?" she asks, turning to face me finally.

I shrug, "I'm used to it", I let the words hang in the air for a few seconds before turning towards the mirror to do my clean up prep.

"You can't let them see it affect you" I speak up after a few minutes of cleaning up.

Quinn has been relatively quiet as she just stares at me from across the room. I've been aware of her eyes on me this entire time, whether it's through the mirror or directly on me. She makes me nervous. It's taken all my strength to continue business as usual but it doesn't mean that the devil on my shoulder hasn't been taunting me to meet her eyes. It feels like I'm under a spotlight and my face is incredibly hot as she watches me.

"What about Friday?" she asks

I recall Friday in my mind; I'm assuming she's talking about the double slushie incident and my breakdown in the bathroom.

"A moment of weakness"

I was weak but not because I was slushied. She doesn't need to know that though.

Quinn pushes off of the wall that she was perched up against, she makes her way over to me, "They can't treat you like this, it's not right. You can't let them get away with this"

I chuckle to myself out of irony, "You were one of _them_ last week" I tell her playfully, giving her a small smile. I want to tap her nose with my finger but I refrain.

It isn't malicious, it isn't even meant to sound like the way I know Quinn just took it.

"You're right" she breathes out, letting the realization sink in.

"Where are you going?" I ask once I see her starting to turn to leave, I'm such an idiot.

"I'm sorry, I have to go"

She's gone a second later, leaving me to feel all kinds of guilty and foolish for even opening my mouth in the first place. I throw the messy paper towels in the garbage and leave the bathroom to go get one of my extra pairs of clothes I have stashed in my locker. I contemplate just staying in these clothes, in case I get bombarded again. I don't know who in their right mind would cross Quinn or Santana but it just feels easier to expect the inevitable. I shake my head, the show must go on. Wardrobe changes before the second act. By the time I get to the hallway, there isn't any trace of the blonde bombshell.

The rest of the day goes on in this fashion, it's evident that Quinn is ignoring me, if I do get a glance of her; she's gone a second later. I've come to the conclusion that she's a ghost. I start considering that she's a figment of my imagination, that anything that happened this past weekend was just a dream. I don't pursue her or go out of my way to talk to her and explain myself; I said nothing but the truth, even if she took it the wrong way. Besides I have already decided that I'm going to approach her after Glee club, I know it will be the perfect time to corner her.

"Mr. Schuester, while I agree with your song choice, are you sure that Tina is the best choice for that solo?" I ask from my spot in my usual chair

I hear the entire group groan as I flip through the sheet music, they're already tired of me and it hasn't even been 5 minutes into the rehearsal.

A booming voice interrupts my thoughts, "And you believe that you're the better option?"

I knew this was going to happen; I blame myself for not stating my reasoning right away.

"No. Mercedes, I was just pointing out—"

"Pointing out that you're the best one in this club, yeah we get it" she rolls her eyes.

I'm taken aback, it appears that my peers are exceptionally annoyed with me today, I don't know what I have done to deserve such treatment, "That's not what I was going to say" I tell her timidly, unaware of where my courage ran off to.

"Seriously Rachel, we get that you think every song should be yours, but give someone else the spot light for once" Kurt adds.

Clearly I missed the memo on my calendar that it was everyone hate on Rachel day, I swallow looking around, hoping that I can find some support from Finn, I'm not sure where we stand but normally he's my go-to when I need help. He just averts his gaze away from me and it's apparent that he agrees with these harsh attacks.

I feel helpless and I just want to crawl into the corner and let them do the song how it was originally intended, even though I know that it will be much better the way it sounds in my head.

"So if you're done with your self-promoting, I think we should let Tina do her solo" Mercedes cuts in again.

"Will you guys shut up?" Quinn barks loudly, everyone snaps their mouths shut.

"Excuse me?" Mercedes asks boldly.

"Excuse yourself" she bites back, "Clearly Rachel wasn't going to say any of what you were accusing her of, if you'd get over your own jealousy, you'd see that. So why don't you let her speak before you cut her down, I'm tired of it" the blonde rubs her temples.

Mercedes opts to not reply to the cheerleader, not wanting to piss her off any further. No one wants the head bitch in charge to come back.

All eyes are on me expectantly; however my eyes are wide and focused on hazel ones as they bore into me.

I clear my throat, "It's nothing" I speak shyly, afraid I'm about to get attacked again.

"No, say what you wanted to say" Quinn demands.

I gulp, hoping to find some of the courage I need, "Well I was just going to say that I think Tina would be much more appropriate for my solo, and it's well in her range."

Tina smiles graciously at me, but I can't be bothered to smile back, I'm too scared.

"So who would get Tina's solo? You?" Kurt asks, still slightly irritated with me for some reason.

"I was going to suggest Mercedes" I pipe up.

I can see that the entire club is speechless and probably feeling a little guilty. I don't gloat in their faces. I just look down to my lap and avoid all of their eyes, especially the hazel ones that I can feel on me.

Mr. Schuester is going over it in his head, I wonder if he is feeling just as guilty as the others.

"That's a good idea Rachel" he announces and shuffles through some papers.

It appears that Finn is only around when there is no sign of tension or drama, so when he reaches his long arm out to drape it over my shoulder while the girls start practicing, I shrug it off my shoulders. He doesn't deserve to pick and chose when he wants to acknowledge me. He frowns and his brows furrow, an obvious sign that he's either upset or confused, he probably doesn't even realize that I just blatantly dissed him. For once I chose to ignore him. I can feel Quinn's eyes on me once again, probably watching what I just did to Finn, I refuse to meet her eyes.

I approach the blonde on my own terms, not when it's convenient for her. Her back is to me and she tenses as I come up to her, I have a feeling that she knows it's me.

"Thanks for sticking up for me" I say quietly to her back.

"It was nothing" the blonde replies, still not turning to face me, instead she keeps herself busy by shuffling her books around in her backpack.

"It was something" I shrug, though she can't see me.

Quinn spins around, her blonde hair falling back into place as she studies me.

"I'm sorry for earlier" I speak again when I have her full attention.

"You were right, and I don't deserve you"

I'm confused by her word choice but before I can voice my concern Quinn excuses herself.

"I have to get going, I'll see you around" she says quietly as she shoulders her bag.

I'm left speechless as I watch her hurry out of the room, away from me. I run a hand through my hair and turn back towards Tina, so I can help her with her new solo.

There's a tap on my shoulder after a few minutes, I spin around quickly hoping to find the hazel eyes I've grown to crave but hate to ignore. I'm met with Mercedes. I don't mean to let the frown escape my lips but I'm slightly disappointed.

"Before you say anything" she starts, "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry"

"It's okay, I understand why you said what you did"

She shakes her head, "I have no excuse for the way I acted"

"I appreciate your apology Mercedes, it's very noble of you"

She chuckles a little before turning serious again, "Look Quinn is right, I don't deserve this solo"

"Quinn? What?" I ask before I can contain myself.

She studies me, "I just got done talking to her in the hallway" she points behind her, "Anyway, I just wanted you to know that I'm grateful"

I nod curtly, too mixed up in my mind to acknowledge her properly. Quinn ran away from me, but had enough time to stop and talk to Mercedes in the hallway. I know I shouldn't let it get to me but it does.

* * *

I can't shake off the feeling that something is missing, it's almost the end of the day and something is definitely off. Aside from the fact that Quinn is pretty much still avoiding me. It's not as obvious any more but I know that she is. I want to shake her and tell her that she's crazy for thinking that she of all people doesn't deserve me as a friend. It baffles me. What baffles me further is that while we don't speak in school, for the past two nights I've gotten a text message from her at the same time both nights. The first text is simply a general location, I smile when I read her words. It's sort of like a little ritual we've created, something that only we share. Our banter lasts a few messages, it's always over too soon and it always leaves me breathless. She manages to call me some kind of pet name, which makes me smile, and she lets me pick the specific place that we'll 'meet at in our dreams'. The entire thing is really corny and I try not to read too much into it or else I think I might go crazy.

I study the contents of my locker finally realizing what is missing from my day to day. I see the small bag of emergency clothes untouched before I look down to my current outfit that's completely dry and unharmed. I'm still in the clothes that I wore to school this morning, in fact yesterday I went home in the same clothes that I went to school in. It was extremely unheard of to go two days without a slushie facial, my clothes are dry and my hair is not sticky, something is seriously wrong. Not that I'm complaining but I'm almost more frightened now that I realize it. Sure there are few occasions when I can manage a day where I avoid the corn syrup, but never have I been able to do it two days in a row. I shut my locker, feeling proud of myself; I look up and down the hallway, my smile vanishing at what I see. A husky boy stalking toward me with a hand behind his back, I prepare myself for the inevitable cold rush as he comes to a stop in front of me, I slam my eyes shut and close my mouth. When I don't feel anything, I chance a glance at him, he's looking particularly shy.

"Just get it over with David" I tell him bravely.

He looks up and down the hallway a few times before he pulls his hand out from behind his back. This is it, I brace myself once again.

Instead I'm met with a red apple, most likely stolen from the cafeteria.

"What's this?" I ask, hoping that he won't wind up and pelt me with it.

He offers me the apple, "An apology, I'm sorry for being an asshole, please just tell Santana and Quinn to back off"

I take the apple and study him closely, "What?"

"They're relentless, and they called my mom…twice. I'm sorry for bothering you" his eyes lift for a brief second to look down the hallway, something is obviously spooking him out of this conversation.

"Okay?" I trail off as he practically runs down the hallway.

The news that my biggest tormentor is afraid of the two cheerleaders suddenly finds the missing puzzle piece and fits it into place. Since the debacle in the hallway on Monday, the one where Quinn came to my rescue, no one has attempted to harm me. In fact, now that I think about it, they almost move out of my way when I walk down the hallway. I can't help but wonder what they had done to the hockey player to get him and his cohorts to back off.

Luckily my last period of the day is my study hall, I normally use this period to get my homework done so I can focus on more important things at home but I can afford to forfeit one day. I know for a fact that Santana has a free period as well, or maybe she just skips her last class every day. I know exactly where to find her and when I walk into the gym, I smirk to myself as I see her and Brittany stretching by the bleachers.

"Santana, Brittany" I nod curtly at them as I announce my presence.

"Hi Rachel!" Brittany waves happily, I smile at her.

"Manha—Berry" she replies rolling her eyes.

"Good job San" Brittany tells the girl affectionately.

"What's going on?" I ask

"Nothing" Santana snaps quickly.

"San isn't allowed to call you names anymore, and she's doing a good job" the blonde gushes

"Why?" I ask curiously, my eyes narrowing.

"Did you need something?" Santana barks

"I just had an interesting conversation with Karofsky" I say, tossing the apple in my hand towards the girl.

Brittany grabs the apple and takes a big bite out of it, happily munching away.

I don't miss the way Santana tenses at this news, "So?" she asks, putting her face back on, "Why are you telling me this?" she asks, knowing full well what my reasoning is.

"It was just interesting is all" I smirk

"Yeah, you mentioned that"

"Why was it interesting Rach?" Brittany asks

"He apologized to me" I tell her as I watch the Latina's face closely for clues as to whether or not she has an idea of what I'm talking about.

Brittany claps and breaks my concentration, "Yay! Your threats worked S!"

"So it is true?" I ask

Santana turns around and faces me more fully, grabbing my arm and dragging me away from the bleachers, probably so her partner in crime can't blow up her spot anymore than she has in front of me.

"Look I didn't do it for you" the girl fires

My face falls slightly but I recover, "If you're not doing it for me then who are you doing it for?"

Santana backs herself up into a corner on this one and she knows it too, she sighs thinking of how she can get out of this conversation and still save face.

"Quinn cares about you, I don't know why, and since I care about Quinn, then I'm obligated by default to care about you, slightly."

"That was almost civil Santana, thank you"

The girl rolls her eyes, "Whatever, don't say anything to Q. You were never supposed to find out, Karofsky is going to be spoken to" she crosses her arms across her chest, back in her defensive mode.

I nod but I'm scheming up a few ideas of how I can thank the blonde cheerleader for being my knight in invisible armor.

"I appreciate it" I tell Santana in a rare moment of honesty.

"Yeah well, it was the least I could do for you since you're letting Q stay at your place" she says

"What?"

"What?" Santana asks confused, "Son of a bitch" she mutters upon seeing the shock on my face. "Keep B company" she tells me before jogging out of the room. I attempt to protest but it is no use at this point.

I take a seat next to Brittany on the bleachers as she blissfully chews on the fruit, "Santana does like you ya know" she tells me, "She acts tough but she's a big softy, especially around me and Q"

"You guys are all really close huh?" I ask, continuing the conversation, hoping to get some answers at the least.

"Yup, best friends" she nods.

"Can you tell me what happened?" I ask, I know Brittany isn't as dumb as she lets on, she knows exactly what I'm getting at.

Brittany pauses, most likely gathering up all of her thoughts, "Remember Monday, after she almost beat up Karofsky?"

I nod, knowing she's talking about Quinn.

"Q came to us, she was like really upset, I couldn't understand a word she said, but S just held her until she stopped crying and then she told us to do whatever we had to so that Karofsky stayed away from you" Brittany tells me

"That was very… chivalrous, of her" I can't find the right word I'm looking for, "Why did Santana think that she was staying with me at my house?" I ask.

"Umm" Brittany fills, "Oh! Tuesday morning we were here early and we found Q showering in the locker room, which is what she did when she got kicked out the first time, she claimed it wasn't the case, and that she was staying at your house until her dad moved out again"

Quinn's words echo in my mind, _I'll leave my home again before I live with my father. _The next thought that crosses my mind makes me sick to my stomach, if Quinn claimed to be staying at my house and she in fact wasn't, where was she staying?

"I have to go" I say quickly

"But S said" Brittany starts

I'm in no mood to feel Santana's wrath once she finds out that I left Brittany alone in the gym and directly disobeyed her orders, I reach my hand out, "Come with me" I tell her

The blonde agrees and the two of us make our way through the empty halls, looking for clues as to where either of the other girls had disappeared to.

Brittany directs us towards the Choir room where she heard some shouting, both of us stand just beyond the door, listening intently to the two cheerleaders in a heated argument.

"What the hell Q, you've been sleeping in your car?" Santana asks, clearly pissed.

My stomach lurches when I hear that's where she's been texting me from the past couple of nights.

"It's none of your business, and would you keep your voice down" Quinn replies in a low growl.

"Why would you lie to me? I'm your best friend" I can tell that the Latina is more hurt than angry, that much is evident.

"It's complicated" Quinn replies.

Both girls are silent for a long minute.

"Karofsky told her"

Well so much for that, way to put up a fight Santana.

"What? Why?" Quinn asks in obvious panic.

"Well when the girl goes from the biggest target in school to virtually untouchable under your orders, people are going to notice, including the ever so oblivious Berry"

"Watch it" Quinn snarls.

"It would make this a whole lot easier if you would just admit it"

"I mean it S, watch what you say to me"

"Fine, Whatever. But you're the one that's going to have to answer to Berry since she knows you're using her as a cover"

"Why couldn't you just keep your damn mouth shut" Quinn yells, slamming her fist on the piano.

Brittany winces at the sound of her two girls fighting, I grab her hand to comfort her, it can't be easy to hear this conversation. It isn't easy for me either, I have millions of questions swirling around in my head.

"Don't put this on me Quinn" Santana warns, "Where are you going?" the Latina asks a little louder.

My eyes go wide when I realize what Santana just asked, Quinn was about to walk out of the choir room door and catch both of us eavesdropping.

It's too late, Quinn is already in the hallway, dead in her tracks as she notices me standing near the door, looking much like a deer caught in headlights.

"Rach, I"

"Berry" Santana snaps my attention away, "Jesus, Don't you ever listen? I thought I told you to stay in the damn Gym"

"Don't talk to her like that" Quinn fires from next to her, her eyes threatening her for more worse than her words could.

I gulp, I'm completely out of my element right now.

"How much of that did you hear?" Santana asks more softly this time, taking hold of Brittany's hand, after she notices how scared she is.

Quinn's eyes go wide, it never crossed her mind that I heard any of that, let alone all of it.

"Um" I look at the two inquiring minds, Brittany averts her gaze to the floor, a dead giveaway that we are both guilty.

Quinn's hand goes up to cover her mouth, "Oh god" she chokes out before she runs down the hallway and away from all three of us.

"C'mon B" Santana pulls the blonde away with her, leaving me by myself, feeling more confused than ever.


	4. Chapter 4

**Apologies, I was away for the weekend and unable to post. I'm so happy you guys liked the texting because that is one of my favorite parts of this story. As always, I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

I ignore all the stares that tower over me as they pass by, I'm determined to stand my ground, and if that means pitching a tent in the literal sense then so be it. I've been perched in front of Quinn's locker since she ran away from me 30 minutes ago, I'm camped out on the floor and I'm not moving until she comes to retrieve her personal belongings. I'm forcing her to talk to me, and I'm prepared to wait as long as I need to.

The bell sounded two minutes ago and since then I've nearly been trampled over a hundred times, I guess it's appropriate since people don't tend to look down while they walk. I'm sitting Indian style now, I tried apologizing to the senior that I just tripped but she gave me one look and scurried off. I wonder just how big of a stopping order the blonde put out there, I mean if a senior is afraid to interact with me then it must have been pretty big. The halls have thinned out now; people just want to get out of this prison as soon as possible.

"What are you doing Berry?"

I glance up, Quinn is looking down at me, I have to bite my lip, the fluorescent light is outlining her face and she looks like biblical. Now is not the time to admire her beauty. And I don't miss the obvious use of my last name. Her walls are rebuilding themselves.

I scramble to my feet.

"I wish to speak with you" I tell her

She rolls her eyes in a playful manner, "Stalking is illegal" she tells me as she opens her locker.

"Be that as it may, I knew I wouldn't get another chance, you are very strong willed and determined Quinn" I notice her cheeks turn a light crimson before she recovers.

"What does that have to do with anything?" she asks, abandoning her locker search to look at me.

"Well when you put your mind to something, you accomplish it. In this particular case it's avoiding me" I pause a beat to give her ample time to refute my statement, when she doesn't I press on, "Luckily, I'm just as strong willed and determined and I won't allow it"

"Is there a point to all of this?" she asks with some irritation in her voice, though I think that it's more tiredness.

"I have a guest room, it's pretty spacious and it comes with its own bathroom"

"That's nice" she says and looks towards her locker.

"As resolute as you are, you're quite thick headed" I chuckle, she doesn't understand my joke, "I'm asking you to move in with me, well err, you'll have a place to sleep until everything settles at your home"

"Thanks for the offer but I'm good" she continues to study her text books but I know she's stalling so she doesn't have to look at me.

"I can see that you are most certainly not"

"It's none of your concern" she tells me

I know what she's trying to do, I cross my arms over my chest "I'm making it my concern"

She turns to look at me finally, her eyes piercing mine, "Berry back off, I mean it. I don't need to be pitied, I'm fine"

She goes back to her locker, the dance she's doing is angering me.

"Liar" I'm tempted to stick my tongue out at her, I can feel a hissy fit coming on.

She half laughs but is half taken aback "Excuse me?"

"You're lying, you're not fine, you're lost and broken" I point out

"It's not your responsibility to fix me"

"Why can't it be?"

She slams her locker hard, I jump back at the sound and sudden movement, "Look, just drop it okay? I'm not going to be some dumb side project that you can occupy your time with, bedazzling and glittering me to your liking"

I study her face, I don't know if she means those words or if it's the defense mechanisms talking, I'm hurt none the less. My voice drops to nearly a whisper. "Is that what you think of me? What you think of yourself?"

She runs a hand through her hair, shaking her head a centimeter, her eyes open and they're clouded, "I think a whole lot worse"

I take a step towards her, "Quinn, I care about you", I tell her softly, my hand itching to cup her cheek.

I've seemed to have gotten to her, her voice lowers and her eyes droop, "Yeah well, so has everyone else in my life and look where they are now"

My eyes scan her exhausted face, "I'm not the same"

"You will be" she's starting to build back up into the intimidating cheerleader, her voice is getting stronger.

"I'm offended Quinn, I just want to help you" my arms are at my hips now, defiant.

There's a flash of regret in her eyes before fire covers it, "I don't need your help, get it through your head" she all but shouts. And she's back.

She stalks off before I can stop her and just like that she slips back into the persona that I know she hates. I collect myself and my thoughts. I'm not finished with her yet.

I walk to the auditorium where Glee rehearsal is being held today in order to start running through the new number for Invitationals. I'm not myself and I think just about everyone can tell.

"Rachel, you're sharp" Kurt reprimands.

"Whatever" I mumbled, walking off the stage to get a sip of water from the water fountain.

I don't miss the curious eyes on me. I take a few minutes to console myself once I get out into the hallway. I knew that Quinn wouldn't show up to practice, but it doesn't mean I miss her any less. I look down the hallway towards her locker; I want to cry at the exchange that happened between us nearly an hour ago. Throughout the entire conversation I couldn't shake the feeling that I just wanted to hold her again, like I had in our previous alone times. It's incredibly inappropriate to have these feelings for her but they're not going anywhere, they're just getting stronger and stronger with every glance at her. My body aches when she's not around and it aches even more when she's too close to me. I couldn't possibly like her, as more than a friend that is. It's plausible, I mean she is attractive, she can be sensitive when she wants to be, she's a heck of a flirt, and part of me relishes in the feeling that she cares about me. Her behavior towards me has certainly changed over the past couple of days and I can practically see her walls crumbling, she's letting me in. She's as stubborn as me and I love that about her, I love the challenge and she drives me absolutely mad with her 'come here, go away' tact. But she's a monster. I'm ashamed of myself for even attempting to entertain that idea of her, it's exactly what she thinks of herself and I refuse to succumb to her own beliefs of herself. Santana has made it very clear that she cares about me. However, I mustn't base my own feelings off of what she feels for me, I'm positive that they are strictly friendship because she feels desperate, and besides I have to base them off of what I feel for her. And she makes me feel everything, all at the same time. I can't turn my back on her, not without a fight, and I plan on winning it.

"Hi"

I'm brought out of my interior monologue of self discovery. I turn on my heel to greet my intruder.

"Santana, hello…were you forced out here to check on me"

She crosses her arms, and rolls her eyes, "No, I wasn't forced. I wanted to see if you talked to Q, and if you were okay" for a second she sounds genuine and I realize that she is.

I sigh, sitting on the randomly placed bench in the hallway. The same bench that I once shared with Quinn when she was pregnant, if only I knew then what I know now, I wonder if things would have been different.

Santana comes to a stop in front of me. Both of our attention is turned towards the chipper blonde that is coming at us.

"I missed you" Brittany tells Santana and they both smile.

I envy them.

"You guys, I don't know what to do" I whine.

"What happened" Santana asks carefully.

I go into an excruciating detailed account and a play by play of what transpired between the two of us. Luckily I've been trained in dialogue memorization via my many acting classes, and I was even able to properly use the tones that she used with me.

"Bad move Berry" Santana frowns.

I think my frown is bigger than hers.

"Why?"

"Yeah why?" Brittany asks

"Q is a bigger bitch than I am" she starts, okay now my frown is even bigger, "she has enough pride for the three of us" she gestures to Brittany beside her, " and the fact that she told you half the things she already did is mind blowing. She's not just going to surrender and let you 'fix' her, she'll never let it happen. Like I said she has far too much pride, and she's stubborn as shit"

I take in the information, all things I pretty much knew.

"Besides, this is a typical Quinn response. She is just really embarrassed and this is how she acts when she feels this way"

"Why is she embarrassed?" I ask not understanding how someone like Quinn could be embarrassed.

"Um hello…you overhead everything that we were talking about earlier" she reminds me like I didn't know.

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about, it was just me." I reason, I'm the last person to judge anyone.

"Yeah exactly, just you."

"What does that mean?" I ask

She scoffs, "What does that mean?" she's mocking me, I can tell how she's bobbing her head and rolling her eyes. And I don't sound that whiney in real life.

"Yeah" I shrug, "so I overheard, big deal" I look back and forth between them.

"Big deal?" Santana looks like her eyes are about to pop out of her head, she calms herself and looks to Brittany, I think she just realized what I've been trying to tell her, that I don't know what she's talking about, "Do you seriously not know?" she asks a little more slowly, studying me.

"Know what?" I'm a little more than alarmed now.

Is Quinn sick? Is she dying? She has a disease, oh my god she's pregnant again, that's it.

I stop once I see that Santana's eyes are literally popping out of her head now, Brittany is looking at me with a knowing smile.

"Berry you have to be the biggest moron I've ever met." Her thumb and pointer cradle the bridge of her nose in irritation, or maybe I'm giving her a headache.

"I beg your pardon!" I stand quickly, "Can I contest that statement?" I ask offended.

"Quinn likes you." She blurts out, she grabs my shoulders and gives me a small shake, "Quinn. Likes. You. And I think you're the only one who can't see it. She's embarrassed you heard everything because she likes you, like a lot"

"Me?" I point to myself, she lets go of my shoulder, "Quinn likes me…me…Quinn…she likes me?" I'm stuttering.

"Um yeah that's what I just said" Santana replies

"Me?" I ask one more time.

"Oh for Christ's sake" she sits me down on the bench again, good thing because my knees are wobbling, "Get a hold of yourself"

"Aw San, this is exciting!" Brittany claps

Santana gives her a small smile, maybe agreeing, I can't be sure I'm hyperventilating.

"You're sure?" I ask

She rolls her eyes again, "Let's see, she told you like a lot of deep personal things that she won't even tell me, she practically foams at the mouth at the thought of someone hurting you, she doesn't shut up about you and I'm pretty sure she hangs on every word you say. She has you so high up on a pedestal that my neck will snap if I try to look up at you, I'd say she likes you a pretty damn lot" Santana breathes out.

"Wow"

"What are you going to do about it?" she asks once I've calmed down.

I close my mouth, "I don't know, I haven't thought about it. I suppose I should go find her" I begin to stand.

"Where is she?" Brittany asks

I sit back down, "I have no idea" I reply feeling dejected.

"Well find out" Santana snaps

I sigh, running a hand through my hair, "She'll never answer my phone call" I tell them.

"Hmm, that's funny"

I look up, "What?"

"The Rachel Berry I know wouldn't give up that easily, and I sure as hell know that Quinn's Rachel Berry wouldn't give up that easily either." She gives me a pointed look, effectively getting under my skin.

My heart pounds when I hear her refer to me as one of Quinn's possessions. I jump up, game face on.

"Well played Lopez"

* * *

The doorbell is generic, and cold. It makes me miss the musical chime at my own house, so welcoming and friendly. I wait a few seconds until I hear small clicks on the hardwood floor. The wooden door opens half way to reveal a woman that resembles the girl I'm after.

"Hello, may I help you?" she asks

I look away from her firm wrinkles, the botox didn't work, and focus on her cold grey eyes, they make me shiver. They're nothing like her daughters.

"Hi, my name is Rachel Berry, I'm a friend of your daughters" I tell her, pleasantly holding out my hand.

She looks surprised, I wonder how many friends Quinn has had to her home.

"Of course, it's nice to meet you. Please come in" she gestures into the foyer. I nod my thanks and step inside.

It's a bit chilly, there's a blatant absence of life. This is a house, it's by no means a home.

"Quinn has told me so much about you" she tells me with a tight smile.

I somehow doubt that. While it's clear that Quinn will talk about me to whoever will listen, I don't believe that she's spoken anything but cordial greetings to her mother for some time now. She's programmed to say this I'm sure.

"She's too kind. Is she here?" I ask

She gives me a sad smile, "I'm afraid you just missed her"

I'm slightly shocked.

"So she was here?" I ask for clarification.

"Yup, she left about 10 minutes ago, she's been working so hard to get her grades back up, she went to the library to meet with her study group"

I doubt her grades were ever down to begin with. I want to scowl at this woman for knowing nothing about her daughter.

"Do you know what time she'll be back?" I ask

Mrs. Fabray studies me, I try to look harmless.

"I only ask because we were supposed to work on an assignment together, I must have gotten the times mixed up"

Way to think on your feet Berry.

She puts the end of her glasses in her mouth in contemplation, her other hand rests on her hip.

"Well, she said she'd be late again. She comes in after I go to sleep, and she's up and out before I wake in the morning. I tell you, she's done a complete one-eighty now that she's back home, I'm so proud of her" she gushes.

I try to fight the urge to roll my eyes. This woman knows nothing. I'm sadder than I thought I would be.

A breeze enters the house and it sends a shiver up my spine, I tense at the sound.

"Hello, Hello"

I don't turn around right away because his voice alone scares me. How could Quinn live in a house such as this.

"Who do we have here?" the man asks.

"Oh forgive my manners" Mrs. Fabray speaks up gesturing to me, "This is Rachel, she's a friend of Quinn's"

"Well it's nice to meet you" he holds his hand out to me.

I begrudgingly shake it, I have the strongest urge to wipe my palm on my skirt but I push it down. I study the man, his eyes are even colder, and I can tell he's pure evil. How they raised such a thoughtful and caring daughter is beyond me. I think to how Quinn used to be and not an ounce of resentment comes to me as I think about who the people she has to call family are.

I give him a smile and announce my exit. They both see me out with fake smiles of their own and I've never been happier to leave someplace. Once I get to my car, I pull out my cell phone. After two rings it picks up.

"Was she there?" Santana's voice comes through the phone.

"No, she's sneaky. She was here 10 minutes ago, she must come here for a little, gets what she needs and gets out" I tell her as I sanitize my hands.

"Damn her" Santana hisses

"Her father showed up, that must be why she leaves so quickly"

"You met Russell?" she gasps

I shiver thinking back to it. I put some more sanitizer in my palm.

"I do not want to talk about that man, eck. Or that mother of hers, she doesn't even know that Quinn isn't sleeping at home"

"It doesn't surprise me" Santana says sadly, "Here talk to Brit, I'm driving"

There's some ruffling until I'm met with the cheery voice of Brittany.

"How are things on your end?" I ask

She sighs, "We just drove by Puck's, her car isn't there either" she tells me.

I'm slightly relieved that it's not.

"Was that the last place?" I ask

"Yeah, we checked all the glee member's houses, she's not staying at any of them"

I close my eyes and look up, out of options.

"Are you heading back to Santana's?" I ask.

"Yup, meet us there. Oh wait, San wants you"

There's more ruffling. I feel like crying, I have not a thought as to where this girl could be. I've only went through our text messages a thousand times, if I don't think of something soon I'm just going to travel to one of the dream locations and camp out until she comes to find me.

"Don't worry, We're going to find her okay?" Santana's soft voice comes through the receiver.

It's exactly what I need.

I throw the car in drive and get to Santana's house just as the girls are getting out of their car. Brittany greets me with a hug as we walk up the pathway to the Latina's house. We get to her room and all crash on various chairs or the bed.

After learning that Quinn likes me, all I want to do is hold her. The fact that it's seemingly impossible to do right now is literally eating me alive.

The sun is nearly setting now and it makes me panic, the dark makes everything seem ten times worse. The thought of Quinn out there by herself makes my heart ache. I know exactly what I'm going to do once I find out where she is. I've already told my father's the situation, and I grabbed the necessary items that I'll need. I just hope that I can get to her. My eyes train over various decorations and items around the room, it's similar to Brittany's, the pictures deck her furniture and the trophies and pom-poms on the shelves are starting to feel familiar, I imagine Quinn's room looking the same. I bet it's the only place in her entire house that I would feel comfortable in. I would feel comfortable in any room if Quinn was beside me. I can't believe that I would ever feel this way.

I look at some of the pictures before moving on to the bookcase, books that I've never even heard of adorn the shelves. Some of the books I have read and I'm surprised that they are even in her home.

"I didn't realize you were an avid reader" I tease her

"Shut up" she replies, but all in fun for once.

I run my fingers across the books, stopping on one and pulling it out.

"Oh my god, I've got it" I announce, holding the book up.

"The Art of War Berry? What, are we going to attack her until she surrenders?"

Luckily I've read this book in preparation to take down any competition during auditions.

I shake my head, "Why do you have this book?" I ask

She shrugs, "Coach Sylvester gives it to you once you join the squad, we sometimes have pop quizzes on it"

"Do you know why she requires it?"

"I don't know, so we can understand strategy and can exploit people's weaknesses so we get what we want" she gestures, realization soon gracing her features.

"Exactly."

She points to me, "You're her weakness"

God, I love the sound of that.

"I don't get it" Brittany raises her hand.

"Think of Quinn being in a well hidden and well stocked fort, there's no way to get to her right?"

Brittany nods.

"So we need to draw her out" Santana tells her, "We use Berry to get to Quinn"

"How do we do that?" Brittany asks

"Oh I know exactly what will make her blood boil enough to pull her out of hiding" Santana says evilly.

* * *

**Yes I understand that I'm also evil in leaving it here. You'll enjoy the next chapter, promise. :-)**


	5. Chapter 5

It's completely dark out which will help with our plan.

"You're sure you can pull this off Lopez? If your acting isn't perfect it could unfold entirely"

Santana grabs the phone, "I can handle it"

We're standing in her front yard, getting ready to initiate the launch sequence.

"Speakerphone!" I whisper

"Shut up I know" she says pressing the button.

It rings 5 times and we're looking panicked, in theory there is no reason why Quinn shouldn't pick up the phone call, she couldn't possibly guess that we would forge an alliance in the blonde's absence.

"Hello?" the tired voice comes through the speaker.

Santana nods to me, "Oh my god, Q thank god, I didn't know who to call"

"What's wrong?" she asks

"Please you have to get here right now" I think I see Santana tearing up for effect, her voice is shaky and she's selling this better than I could.

"Slow down and tell me what's wrong" Quinn commands firmly.

"It's Berry"

"What? What happened? Where are you? Santana answer me" she yells

My eyes go wide, I feel guilty for the emotional distress we're putting her through.

"Karofsky…and, and…she's here, just get here please. She needs you" Santana says

"Is she hurt? Santana, please just, tell me that she's okay" her voice cracks and my heart breaks, it sounds like she's about to cry and I feel sick to my stomach.

Santana looks at me asking for advice, I mouth my answer.

"She's okay Q"

"Keep her safe" is the last thing that comes through the phone before the line goes dead.

I swallow dry air, "Are we really going to do this?" I ask

"I think we already did" Brittany replies

"She's going to be so upset with us" I announce

"She won't. She'll understand when it's all over" Santana says, "Quick, go hide in your car so you can follow her when she leaves. Once she finds out that you're not here, I don't think we'll get a chance to convince her to stay, she's going to be pissed and leave right away"

I feel guilty for having to drag them into this, Quinn is going to hate her best friends when they are only trying to help.

I pull both girls into a tight hug, "Thank you" I whisper, "And I'm sorry for anything she says or does to you"

Santana wipes her eyes, and I wonder just how much of those tears are from her acting now.

"Just make sure this is all worth it" she tells me before she tells Brittany to go inside.

I jog to my car that's parked across the street, I'm not worried that she'll see it, I honestly don't even think she'll notice it if she even knew what kind of car I drove. Santana sits on her front steps, my window is opened and I recline my seat back so I won't be seen.

I hear her car pull up and come to a stop, the door slamming instantaneously.

"S where is she?" I hear Quinn ask.

I sit up a little in my seat so I can see what's going on.

Santana stands up from the steps and walks toward her calmly.

"Where is she?" Quinn asks again, "Is she in your house?" she asks trying to get around Santana's body.

The Latina holds out her arms to catch the girl, "She's not here" she tells her.

"She left? Where did she go?" her voice breaks again.

Santana shakes her head, "She was never here"

"What are you talking about?" Quinn is relentless in trying to get passed the girl.

Santana takes a deep breath and composes herself, this is the hardest part of the entire plan that we drew up an hour ago.

"She was never here"

"Is this your idea of a joke?"

"No, I'm worried about you" Santana stands her ground.

"So you pretend that Rachel is in trouble? Do you have any idea how scared I was? Do you?" Quinn literally pushes her friend and Santana just takes it.

"Q"

"Don't. I can't believe that you would use her against me like this, you know how I feel about her and you make it seem like something horrible happened to her and that she needed me" Quinn is most certainly crying now, a sharp pang stabs my heart.

"It was the only way" Santana tells her.

"Bullshit. You're lucky I didn't stop at Karofsky's to murder him, was that the result you were looking for Santana? Huh?" she pushes her again, hard enough for the Latina to lose her balance.

I'm taking deep breaths, all I want to do is run up to her and hug her and tell her that she shouldn't worry. I know that if I do that, it will ruin the entire plan and it will leave us worse off than we were.

"I can't believe you" Quinn mutters as she turns and walks back down the pathway.

"You can't hide forever Q" Santana shouts as she lifts herself up off the ground.

I lay back down in my seat so she won't see me as she approaches her car.

"I hope nothing ever happens to Brittany, I wouldn't want anyone to feel what I just felt" she tells her before she gets in and slams the door, the car roaring to life a moment later.

The car gets further from me and I know it's safe to sit up and start the car as I see her stopped at the stop sign down the road. I pull out and give Santana a sad wave which she returns. I'm determined to stay at least 10 car lengths behind her and not let off that someone is following her. I'm hoping that through all her rage she doesn't realize the obvious set up that she was just thrown into. I try not to think of how mad she is and I keep telling myself that it will all be worth it. I'll know where she's been staying. I wait a few seconds before I turn corners and I'm sure not to put my blinker on until I'm absolutely positive she's turning that way. We drive for about 4 minutes, I realize how fast she must have been driving to get to Santana's since she made it there in nearly 60 seconds, my breath catches. If anything were to happen to her on the way over I wouldn't be able to forgive myself.

She pulls into a shopping plaza on the south side of town, one that I know my parents don't frequent. I continue driving passed the entrance as to not be obvious. I'm thankful that my father is a crime show buff. I see her as she parks far away from the store. I circle around for a bit before I think it's safe enough to enter the parking lot without her seeing me. I park far enough away from her so that she won't know it's me. I decide to send Santana a text to pass the time.

**Thank you**

**Np, get your girl**

I smile regardless of everything going on around me. I stare at the clock, it's almost 10:15, the exact time that she normally sends me my text message about where to meet in our dreams each night. I watch as the minutes tick by and as 10:14 turns into 10:15 and eventually into 10:20 I know that she's not going to send me a text message tonight.

I sigh and open my phone once again.

**I'm disappointed…are we not meeting tonight? **

Nearly five minutes pass before my phone buzzes. It could have been the longest five minutes of my life. Easily.

**I was afraid you wouldn't respond…**

Her insecurities astound me. I wonder how many times she typed and deleted that message in the past five minutes.

**Funny, I was afraid of the same thing. **

3 more minutes pass before my phone buzzes again.

**Where do you want to meet tonight Princess?**

Finally the bait I was looking for.

I cut the engine and get out of the car. I get my bag out of the back seat and slowly walk towards her car, making sure I'm out of sight. She's in the backseat now, probably laying down but I'm not chancing it.

**I was thinking the Shaw's parking lot. I hear it has a great view of a stubborn blonde. **

I wait outside of the car. I hope that it works. I'm right outside the backseat door when I see her phone light up. She shoots up almost immediately, and looks out the window. I'm afraid of what her reaction will be.

She looks down at her phone and back up to me, and back down at her phone again. My phone buzzes a few seconds later.

**What are you doing here?**

"Seriously?" I yell into the window, "Quinn Fabray open this door at once, remember what I said about my repertoire of Spice Girls' music. Do not make me serenade you"

She rolls her eyes and reaches over to push the door open. I slide in as she moves her pillows.

"Comfy set up you got here" I tease her, "You're a hard girl to track down"

"What did I tell you about stalking" she asks through a small laugh.

I study her face, her eyes are bloodshot, "You've been crying" I tell her, reaching my hand up to cup her cheek.

She closes her eyes and attempts to pull away, my hold stops her and she turns back to meet my eyes.

"It was nothing" she tells me, but I know better.

I take a breath, ready to accept whatever she gives me, "Don't be mad at Santana, I was standing next to her when she called, if you should be mad at anyone it should be me"

She looks at me, I can hear her mind working overtime, "You?" she points, "Why would you do that to me?" she asks, her tears welling up again.

"It was the only way to get to you" I tell her honestly.

She starts breathing heavily, I know she feels betrayed but I hope she can realize why I did it, and a part of me hopes that she would do the same for me, "Do you know how scared I was? I thought the worst, I thought…" she trails off.

I think I know what she thought.

She looks down, silently crying to herself before she looks back up sharply.

"Don't you ever, ever do something like that to me again." She tells me, raising her voice slightly out of her hysterics, "I don't know what I would have done if something happened to you"

"And yet here you are, in true Fabray fashion, finding out that I'm fine and still yelling at me" I smirk

She laughs through her tears, "That's not funny" she tells me but I know she finds it funny, her eyes betray her.

She reaches over and pulls me against her in an embrace I was afraid I'd never be in again, she smoothes my hair, "You have no idea how scared I was Rach" she whispers, "I care about you so much" she tells me softly.

I pull back to find her wiping her tears with the back of her sleeves.

"And you don't think I care about you? How do you think I felt when I found out that you've been out here by yourself for the past few days? You think that was a walk in the park for me? You think that it doesn't hurt me when you walk away from me, when you avoid me?" my voice breaks and so does my resolve. The tears I've kept pent up this entire day are finally coming out.

Quinn pulls me back towards her, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry" she whispers over and over again, "I thought I was protecting you" she admits

I pull back, my tears have subsided a great deal, as have hers.

"From what?" I ask, I don't understand what she could possibly think she was protecting me from.

"Me" she tells me sheepishly.

It hangs in the air. I can't believe that she would think that.

"Why would you try to protect me from the one thing I need?"

She looks out the window for a moment, "I'm a monster" she says softly, her cries are back and her head is in her hands.

I reach over and pick her head up, cradling it between both of my hands so that she'll look at me and understand everything I'm about to say to her.

"You're my hero" I tell her bringing her head towards me as I meet her halfway.

I take a deep breath, and I do mean a very deep breath. The thoughts that are swirling around in my head are not friendship thoughts, if I say these words there will be no going back. I'm scared of rejection, I'm scared of living the rest of my life alone, I'm scared I'll never be good enough; the only thing that scares me more is never being good enough for Quinn Fabray, of being rejected by Quinn Fabray. I thought that this entire day was about her, I realize now that it's been about me. I haven't been desperately searching for her so that I'll know she's somewhere safe, I've been searching for her because I want her to be with me, because I want to be with her. I want to be the thing that lets, no, makes her feel safe. I'm incredibly selfish. I haven't stopped to think about the things that I wanted to say to her if I'd gotten the chance, the things that I _actually _want to say to her. I take another deep breath, it's now or never. Her eyes are on mine, she's waiting for me.

I plant a kiss on her forehead and her eyes close, "You're strong" I tell her as I move my lips to the cheek under her left eye, "You're beautiful", I kiss some of the wetness, "You're brave" I kiss some more of the wetness before moving to her other cheek, "You're confusing", I laugh as I kiss some of the wetness on the right side of her face, "You're protective", I trail my lips boldly down her jaw line, her heavy breath giving me all of my courage, my lips stop centimeters from her lips, she quivers into my mouth and I just about lose all of my composure, "You're mine"

She whimpers and I feel it vibrate off of my skin before I feel her cold and trembling lips pressed against mine. The feeling is indescribable. It's feels amazing, and mind blowing, a little scary, and definitely breathtaking all at the same time. Her lips are the softest thing I've ever felt, her tongue is languid but vibrant, it moves so carefully with mine but every time I feel it against me it sends a shock through my body. I pull her close and then pull some more. Her hands are in my hair pulling me as close as she can get me to come to her, it's still not enough. I'm dizzy and lightheaded and never want to feel anything else. It's delicate and ravishing all at once, it's unreal. I never want it to end and I'd rather have my oxygen supply cut off than breathe something other than her ever again.

She pulls away slowly, I think we mutually pull away but I can't be sure. Her forehead is on mine, her cheeks are dry and her eyes are closed. Her breath is shooting right into my mouth and into my lungs, it's magnificent. It's a few moments before I can collect myself and will my eyes to open again, when I do, her eyes are still closed. She's still breathing as heavy as she was when we first pulled away, I wonder if I am too.

"That was…" she speaks softly, she swallows, "That…I can't" is all she can get out.

I giggle softly at her loss of words, she finally opens her eyes.

"Wow" she says

I smile, "I can be sexy" I tell her, I don't think she was expecting any of that to come her way tonight. I wasn't expecting it either.

"I'll never disagree with you on that" she tells me closing her eyes again, still trying to catch her breath, "Did you mean it?" she asks swallowing again.

"Mean what?" I ask toying with her.

She opens her eyes and smiles, planting a small chaste kiss on my lips that are still close enough for her to reach without moving her head.

"What you just said"

I look around, "Hmmmm" I pretend to think, she gives me a threatening look, "Every word"

"I'm mine, mine yours, you're mine? " she sighs in frustration

I giggle into her lips, and help her out "That you're mine?"

She nods into me.

"If you want to be" I tell her

"I've kind of been yours for a while" she admits

My palms are tingling. I pull back slightly to see the sincerity in her eyes, "I'm kind of still waiting for my invitation"

She laughs, "You've kinda been mine too for a while"

I scoff, "I never agreed to this"

She pulls me closer, "You have no choice in the matter"

It's silent for a moment as we just enjoy the warm interior of the car together.

"What did you mean that I'm confusing?" she asks

I laugh out loud, covering my mouth with my hand at my sudden outburst, "God, Santana was right…you do hang on every word I say" I tease her

Her mouth opens wide, "You guys talked about me?"

"You talk about me" I remind her

She ducks her head but not before I catch her blush, "You weren't supposed to find out about that"

"I think I found out a lot of stuff I wasn't supposed to find out about"

"Oh god" she groans, trying to hide her head in my shoulder, which just tickles me.

"Do you really foam at the mouth when someone tries to hurt me?"

She lifts her head up, "Did Santana tell you that? I'm going to kill that girl"

"Go easy on her" I remind her

"I have a lot of apologizing to do I guess, even though I shouldn't be held accountable for my actions"

"She understands, we calculated that into the plan" I tell her

She eyes me curiously, "You two made quite the treaty today didn't you?" she asks

I take in the look she's giving me, I shrug, "Maybe…are you jealous?"

"Yeah"

She's completely serious, I try not to laugh. Or pinch her cheeks.

"Good, you should be. Don't ignore me anymore" I tell her playfully

She laughs but I know she's about to apologize again. She drags her nails up my back and I try to contain my shudder.

"I really am sorry, I've never had anyone so persistent. Normally people move on from me and all my baggage by now"

"Never" I tell her

She gives me a smile, her elbow rests of the back of the seat, she bends it so she's fingering through my hair, she leans her head on her hand after a few seconds.

"So you guys cooked up a plan and you followed me here?"

I nod proudly and she laughs.

"Not bad. I guess I would have done the same thing"

I smile wide.

She crinkles her nose at me with her smile, "You're beautiful" she tells me as she leans in closer.

I quirk an eyebrow, "Stealing my lines, Fabray?"

"Shut it Berry, I was the one that was supposed to be doing the wooing"

"Well it's a good thing I didn't hold my breath" I stick my tongue between my teeth, taunting her.

Her mouth drops open, shocked, "And what's that supposed to mean?"

I decide that I've teased her enough, "It means that you did the wooing already, I was just solidifying it"

She chuckles softly, "Good answer"

She slides closer to me and I find myself unable to resist her.

I melt under her kiss, her touch turns me into liquid. I'm on fire and freezing at the same exact time. I slide down on my back, resting on one of her pillows, she's on top of me within seconds. It's getting hot in the small car and I wonder if the windows are starting to steam, it wouldn't surprise me. I chuckle to myself when I think of the infamous scene from Titanic. She pulls away and I whimper at the loss of contact.

"Why are you laughing" she asks amused, her perfectly sculpted eyebrow raised.

I decide to be honest with her, "The hand scene from Titanic is playing in my mind"

She begins to laugh, her body shaking against me and I begin to laugh with her again, she reaches her hand up to the window to reenact it for me and I think I just fell even harder for her. She laughs hysterically as she falls back on top of me, her blonde hair tickling my face as it curtains around us. I've never been more content in my life staring up into her hazel eyes so full of life.

She rests her head in the crook of my shoulder and my arms come up to hug her. We lay like that for a while, my eyes are closed as I feel her drawing circles all over my skin. Her breath tickles my chest and I'm trying to make out the letters she's started to write under my collarbone.

"What time do you have to be home?" she asks sadly.

I sit up and once she's sitting up as well I answer her, "You mean what time do we have to be home?"

She shakes her head, "Don't start with this again"

"Why not" I whine, jutting out my lower lip.

She looks like she's about to cave but she averts her eyes, "Because I'm not that person anymore"

I gesture around the car, "Obviously"

She looks at me incredulously, "When did you become so witty?"

"It's one of my many abilities"

"So along with being a phenomenal kisser, you're incredibly sexy, humorous, a hell of a singer, a decent actress" I scoff, she continues with a laugh, "any chance you're a horrible debater?"

I narrow my eyes at her. She stares at me, all trace of humor gone. We're in a stare down, I wonder who's going to win. I decide that I'm going to let her win but in reality I'm about to win. Also, prove that the adjective 'decent' should never come before 'actress' when speaking about me.

I throw my hands up, "Fine, then I guess I'm staying here with you"

She smiles, "Wait…what?" her smile is gone.

I reach down into my canvas tote and pull out the blanket and change of clothes I grabbed from my house earlier. She looks on in shock.

"You're not sleeping out here, absolutely not so don't even get comfortable"

"Why not?" I ask, pretending to be sad. I actually think it's rather chivalrous.

"Because I'm not going to let you sleep outside"

I shrug, so happy that I've picked up this crucial skill. "Well if you're not going to come to my house to sleep in a nice warm bed, and you won't let me sleep out here with you in your car…then I guess we're going to have to go to your house…and I really don't want to go back there again"

I count down in my head to see how long it takes her to catch the end part.

"We're not sleeping at my, what. You went to my house?" her features change instantly.

I shrug once again, "I went to get a starting point, I had a nice chat with your mother…and I met your father" I tell her

She slides closer to me, her hands on me immediately. Her eyes are wide.

"You what? Are you okay? Did he say anything to you? Were they rude? Did they hurt you?"

Her immediate concern for my wellbeing has me wanting to smile but the fact that she asks me if they hurt me is unsettling.

"They were pleasant" I say through gritted teeth but she can see through my lies, "They were fake and made my heart ache for you, I've never felt so uncomfortable and I just wanted to hold your hand while I was there"

She pulls me into a hug, "It's okay, it's okay" she whispers, "You never have to go back there again, I won't let you" she tells me.

I pull back, "But I would go back there for you"

She kisses my forehead and pulls me back into her.

"They don't even know that you're not living there" I tell her, my heart shattering at how much they don't care about her.

"I know" she says sadly.

"Please, come stay at my house."

She's silent.

"I don't think you understand. You know my stalking capabilities. I will camp out in your bedroom until you agree"

She chuckles, I can feel it in her throat.

"Don't put me through that torture" I add

"I wouldn't"

"So you're considering it?" I tread lightly.

"Seeing as I have no choice in the matter" she laughs, "I guess so"

I squeal and she smiles at me when I pull back.

"I'm a little sad that we won't be able to share a bed" she admits

I wiggle my eyebrows, I've already thought of this.

"I'm also very stealthy" I wink

"Com'ere"

With pleasure.

* * *

"I still don't understand why we're in your car"

"Because Quinn, as sincere as you sounded in coming back to my house, I can't run the risk of you taking flight again."

"I told you I wouldn't, don't you trust me?" she asks sounding dejected.

"Please understand, I don't want to take any chances" I give her a pout to solidify my reasoning.

She looks out the window as everything passes by. I reach across the center console and grab her hand, intertwining our fingers. She sighs but eventually turns back to me, "I understand" she says

We pull into my driveway a few moments later, I get out of the car and begin to gather her things from the trunk, as I close the lid I notice that she's still sitting in the car.

I knock on the window, "It will be fine, I promise"

She sighs and gets out of the car, running a hand through her hair.

She takes some of the things off of my hands and we walk side by side up my steps and into the house. My fathers know we're here, I saw them peeking through the curtains after we pulled up.

I play along when they pretend to not hear us come in. They both stand from the couch and meet us in the foyer. After practically crushing Quinn in their bear hugs, and giving her a survey of questions for her to answer so they know her likes and dislikes, we're allowed to go upstairs to get ready for bed.

"Your parents are cool" she comments, "Really nice and welcoming" she's on the verge of tears so I drop what I'm doing and walk over to her.

I pull her into a hug and her arms find my back, I guide her over to the bed and we both sit a little awkwardly until we release each other.

"I know you're upset, but we're going to do everything we can to make you feel at home with us okay?"

She nods, wiping a few tears that have fallen, "I appreciate it, it's just that I have felt more love off of them in 5 minutes than I have in my whole life from my parents"

It breaks my heart that this is something she's had to live with for 16 years.

"You'll get sick of my dads after a while" I try to joke

She laughs and nudges me back, "I doubt that very much"

She stands, ruffling through her bag and getting a few more of her things out and placing them around the room.

I look around the room and realize how bare it is, this is the only room that my father's haven't allowed me to 'bedazzle to my liking', as Quinn earlier put it. "I was thinking, maybe this weekend we could go to Ikea and maybe some other places to get decorations, and maybe paint it. That might be fun right?"

She looks at me with tears in her eyes, "Rach, I don't know how permanent this will be" she chooses her words wisely.

I shrug and look down, "I know that, but it doesn't mean that this isn't your room. I want it to be a place you can come to and feel safe" I tell her

She smiles.

"I know that you have to have a conversation with your parents about everything, and I want you to know that I'll be there holding your hand if you let me. And I'll understand if you want to move back into your home"

She comes and sits next to me on the bed, "You know what? Tomorrow, we'll go after school. They need to know that I'm not okay with my dad back in the house. And if it's okay with you, I want to tell them about us, that will surely get me kicked out." She laughs bitterly, "And maybe we can get the rest of my things"

"Really?" I ask looking up, my eyes are cloudy and wet.

She's letting all of her walls down and I couldn't be happier.

She laughs softly and runs a warm hand across my cheek, "Yeah, and this weekend sounds nice, I'd like to go shopping with you. I'll even let you pick out the paint" she smiles

I hug her, "Oh Quinn, this is probably the best news I've ever heard in my life, you're sure?"

"I'm sure, and I want to get a job too, since my parents aren't going to support me anymore, that's part of the deal, you have to let me get a job"

I roll my eyes but agree, she said I had to let her get a job, she didn't mention anything about me not being able to sabotage it.

"This isn't going to be weird is it?" she asks after a bit, "I mean we're, whatever we are, and we technically are going to be living together"

I don't have anything to say. I don't know what to say to make it any less weird. Last week we wouldn't have given each other a second thought and now here we are discussing furniture shopping and living down the hall from each other.

"I mean, I'm happy, it's just I'm afraid you're going to get sick of me" she admits sheepishly.

I can't contain my laugh, "Maybe, and I'm sure you're going to get sick of me. Just promise me that if we're ever fighting that we don't go to bed mad at each other, and you won't just run away and sleep in your car"

She takes my hand and brings it up, placing a kiss on my palm, "I promise, and keep the diva storm outs to a minimum" I scoff and she laughs, "I promise to be patient with you if you promise to be patient with me" she tells me, "We'll take it slow"

I nod and give her an innocent kiss before pulling away.

"I should get to bed, and so should you" I tell her as I stand up from the bed.

She's still attached to my hand, "I was hoping you'd stay and keep me company" she winks. It's adorable.

I'm so tempted to give in.

"I don't think that's very 'taking it slow' of us" her hand drops and she rubs it on her pant leg, "Besides it's the first night, we don't want to upset my fathers"

"You're right, I'm sorry"

"It's okay, get some sleep. I'll see you bright and early" I wink before giving her a kiss on her forehead.

I walk out of the room and quietly shut the door before retreating back to my own bedroom. I tend to my nightly rituals, and I'm proud and a little scared to say that I only picked out one outfit, and of course wrote a few pages for my memoir.

I close my journal and tuck it safely in the draw of my nightstand before turning off the light and attempting to get to sleep. Everything drastically changed so quickly that it's a little hard to take in. Everything from Karofsky to my strange new understanding with Santana, to meeting Quinn's parents, to Quinn in general. She's so vulnerable and I never thought I would see that side of her, it took a bit of effort but she's surrendered to me finally. She's here almost willingly and I'm not forcing her to move in any more, she actually wants to move in. I can't believe that Quinn Fabray is sleeping yards away from me, on second thought, I can't believe Quinn Fabray is sleeping in the next room and I'm not with her.

I slide out of bed, shut my door quietly and tiptoe down the hall to Quinn's room. I knock gently on the door as to not alarm my fathers and after I hear a soft voice allowing me entrance, I open the door slowly.

She looks up from her bed, she's perched against the headboard, her knees drawn up and she's writing. She smiles when she sees me. I shut the door quietly and tiptoe over to her bed.

She looks at me curiously as I'm standing on the other side.

"What are you doing?"

She looks down, "Just that survey your dad's gave me" she puts it aside, "it can wait"

I gesture towards her bed, "Do you mind?" I ask

She smirks, "What happened to your whole patience and taking it slow thing?" she asks amused, she's not going to make this easy.

"I just want you to hold me"

She smiles with her eyes and lifts the covers so I can join her. She reaches over and turns off the lamp next to her before flattening herself on the bed, I feel her arms around me and sigh.

"Good, because I'm a serious cuddler"

"Yeah, I got a preview at Brittany's"

She laughs into my neck and it tickles my senses. My body feels like it's on fire.

"You feel really good in my arms" she whispers softly, I shiver, she tightens her hold around me.

I feel her nose drawing random patterns on my shoulder blade, occasionally I'll feel her lips but she keeps it relatively innocent. It doesn't mean that she's not doing wonders to my body right now though.

"What's on your mind?" she asks

I'm still facing away from her but somehow she knows that I'm deep in thought. I wonder if she has a sixth sense like I do.

"It's nothing"

"It's something to me" she replies brushing some of my hair away in order to place a kiss on my neck.

Damn her suave moves and irresistible charm.

"It's just, I used to dream about my future, I always thought that when I won my first Tony award that I would be thanking my super famous and rich movie star boyfriend for all of his undying support" I trail off for a bit, she stays quiet waiting for me to finish, "I'm just thinking how I'm going to have to reword it and begin memorizing my new speech"

She chuckles into me softly, "You're adorable. Why don't you just change the boyfriend to a girlfriend and I will strive to become a movie star?" she laughs at her joke but it dies in her throat when I don't react, "Sorry I was just kidding"

"No, it's not that" I reply absentmindedly, "You're actually in my acceptance speech"

"I am?" she asks confused.

I close my eyes, it's not the way she would probably want to be in it.

"And I'd like to thank Quinn Fabray, you never believed in me but you're the reason that I'm up here now" I recite from memorization.

I feel her tense behind me, she begins to pull away and I know that I've gone and messed everything up.

She pulls me with her and suddenly I'm facing her. She closes her eyes for a second.

"I know that I have a lot of groveling to do, and like I said, I don't deserve you" I'm about to protest but she puts a finger to my lips, "I need to get this out" she says taking another breath, "I want to spend every single day making it up to you, I'm changing and it's because of you. You're the kindest and most forgiving person I've ever met. I want to be that, I want to be deserving of you. I want to earn my trust with you, and one day I'm going to be in that acceptance speech for the right reasons and I'm going to be in that audience" she tells me, her voice getting stronger and stronger with each word she speaks.

My lips tremble against hers, I'm so overwhelmed with emotions that I can't stop shaking.

"You're going to be my guest right? You won't be stalking me?"

I'm grateful for her laugh, it reminds me that this isn't a dream.

"I'll be by your side until there's a restraining order against me" she tells me

I laugh.

"I'm not kidding, now that I have a glimpse of you, I'm not letting you out of my sight. You're going to wish you never walked into that bathroom last week Berry"

"It's sexy when you call me Berry now"

She grins and gives me another kiss on the lips before she moves her lips to my forehead.

"I want to ask you something" she says after some silence.

I'm nervous. It's almost a death sentence when you hear those words. It's almost as worse as hearing your parents call your name but they don't tell you what they want. I bite my lip and nod.

She lets out a breath and starts fidgeting, I'm growing more and more nervous with each silent second that passes.

"I've been seeing a therapist" she lets out finally.

She looks at me expectantly and I'm assuming she wants some kind of response.

"Oh?"

"Once a week, since I had the baby"

Wow.

"No one knows"

Double Wow.

"You've come up more than a few times in my sessions"

I can't very well just continue to multiply my wow factor but I have no other response.

I swallow, "Me?"

She laughs slightly, "Turns out you're on my mind a lot"

"I'm flattered but why are you telling me this?"

"While I've found that you're much more therapeutic than my actual therapist, and I've told you way more than I have told the overcharging asshole in 5 months, I was wondering if…" she trails off.

I can tell that this is difficult for her, whatever it is that she wants to tell or ask me, so I wait patiently. And when I run out of patience I gently start rubbing her cheek.

"What is it?"

"Would you come with me to my next session?"

"Me?"

She giggles a little, "Yeah, you"

"Wh, why?"

She rubs her nail across my back.

"You're kind of important to me, you have been for a while and I was just too stubborn to accept it"

"Accept what?"

She looks at me with amusement, "My feelings for you"

"Didn't they just develop within the past week?"

"They only grew stronger"

I'm processing this information, I guess my silence is making her worried. She backs up a little bit.

"That afternoon in the bathroom, when you found me crying. I had been aware of how I felt for you, it was a major breakthrough when Dr. Mackler suggested it and I couldn't find the words anymore to deny it. And when it was you that walked in, I wanted you to leave, I was so scared you'd find out"

My eyes are wide as I'm reliving everything in my head. How could any of this be?

"I drove around for hours that night and I kept ending up on your street, finally I gave in and called you. You were so comforting, you knew exactly what to say and I knew that I was in way over my head. That next morning, having to leave you in your bed was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do behind giving up my baby. I would have stayed next to you for hours if I could have. It scared me. I've been so numb for so long, you're the only one that can make me feel things"

I haven't blinked in ages. I can't tell if the tears are from my emotions or from not blinking.

"You ignored me…Karofsky..." I manage to get out.

I know didn't imagine her standing by and pretending I didn't exist that day, the day that she claims was harder to start than giving up her first born child.

She closes her eyes, "I know, trust me. I wish I could take that back so badly. It was stupid and selfish. I had to put distance between us. I had to make you go away, and it only made my heart hurt even more"

I swallow, my throat is completely dry.

"But you came"

I distinctly remember that she came to the bathroom after the second slushie incident.

"I was in the choir room and no one knew where you were. I panicked, I went to every bathroom in the school until I found you. You were so broken, and it was my fault"

So many questions are racing through my head, I can't pick out one in particular, none of them are coherent.

"And Brittany's?"

"I never thought Santana would ever call you. Something in me just snapped, I was horrible to them, they didn't deserve any of my rage. I was taking my regret with you out on them by being a bitch. I locked myself in a bathroom, and well you know the rest" she ducks her head bashfully.

"So you accepted me after that?" I ask, not realizing how it sounded.

She straightens a bit and holds my shoulders, "It was never ever about accepting you, it was about accepting who I am now. I never meant to hurt you or make you think that I didn't accept you. I accept all of you" she smoothes my hair and her eyes dance across my face before she places a kiss on my forehead, "even your repertoire of Spice Girl's music"

I laugh and the seriousness of the conversation is diminishing thankfully. The change in air is welcoming and I am absolutely going to use this time to learn some more about her while she's being so open with me.

I tap my finger to my chin as I think.

"So, you came out of nowhere and almost beat up Karofsky"

She chuckles, "I was at my locker with Santana, and she was about to kill me"

While I don't doubt it, "Why?"

"Because she said I was bouncy and being annoying. I was just excited to see you" she admits and ducks her head. I coo at her and her blush deepens, "Anyway, I heard a scream and laughter and my heart sank, I had a pretty good idea of what just happened. When I saw you, something in me just took over and before I could react, he was pushed up against a locker and I was wanting to snap his neck."

"Yikes"

"Any more questions?"

"How did you threaten Karofsky?"

She gives me a mischievous smile and gives me a kiss on the lips, "It's better that you don't know babe. I don't think you'd be too proud of me"

I bite my lip playfully as I look up into her eyes.

"You're one of a kind Quinn Fabray"

She smiles, "So now that you know all of this stuff, will you consider coming with me to my session next week. I'd really like you to be there with me." She says timidly.

I smile wide, "I was going to say yes right away but you went off on your boring tangent of self realization and unrequited love"

Her mouth drops and she pulls me into her, she's attempting to tickle me but I fight her off.

"Of course, I'll come with you. I wouldn't miss it for anything"

She smiles gratefully and we've settled back into the perfect cocoon that we've created.

"Where do you want to meet tonight?" she asks me as my eyes begin to droop.

"Right here" I whisper


	6. Chapter 6

**The conclusion. Sigh. Thank you all for coming along on the journey of these two stubborn yet magnificent characters. Some fun facts that I'm sure you don't care about but I'm going to tell you anyway. This was originally entitled "Just the way you are" but I changed it to "Be Alright" which is a song by Vienne because I felt it fit the story more. You should youtube it. It was also originally written in 3rd person past tense, I'm glad I re-wrote it to Rachel's POV. There's going to be another Author's note at the bottom, hope you enjoy!**

* * *

"Look I know that Quinn made it very clear that you guys don't need to come with us today but I think you should. She could use the support, and well…I'm frightened of her father"

"Don't worry Berry, we were going to go anyway. Quinn's stubborn but I know that she can use us there. If anything we can help pack up her room so it doesn't take as long"

I smile at Santana to let her know that I appreciate all that she does for Quinn.

"What time are you guys going anyway?" Brittany asks

"After Glee, Quinn said that her Dad normally comes home around 5, it will give us time to pack and then confront them." I release a breath.

I'm more than relieved that Quinn will be getting out of such a cold and hostile environment but I'm scared and anxious to actually go through with the process. Quinn was up getting something to eat as I sat at the table with Santana and Brittany, it was only after I swore to her that I would be fine in their company and Santana convinced her that nothing would happen to me while she was gone did she finally leave for a few minutes. I miss her already.

"Text us when you get there and we'll come over to help get her stuff. I'm just happy that she's finally leaving" Santana replies after taking a sip from her water bottle.

"I'm afraid she's going to change her mind once we get there" I tell them, it's honestly been on my mind since I've gotten to school.

This morning after waking up with Quinn's arms around me I tried to relish in the feeling, I knew that it was the calm before the storm. Once people found out about us, I surely thought that it would put a strain on what we were, and once her parents found out I was convinced that we would never see each other again. She stirred awake a few minutes later, further confirming my theory that she also has a sixth sense, and gave me a kiss once she saw that I was awake as well. I gave her a bright smile, I was also afraid that she would freak out upon waking and finding us in that close of proximity.

"How did you sleep?" she asked, her voice raspy with tiredness.

"Great, you?"

"Perfect"

She leaned towards me once again and gave me another kiss. I had to pull away before we lost our self control, I was already slowly spiraling out of it. We both showered at the same time, her in the guest room bathroom and myself in my own, before we went downstairs to great my fathers. We rode to school together, stopping to get her car from the parking lot from the previous night before, and parked next to each other once we arrived. We didn't walk hand in hand or anything too outlandish but we didn't bother hiding our smiles or worry about stealing glances. It was the first time in the history of my education career that I didn't pay attention in any of my classes however; I was far too occupied with texting Quinn non-stop.

"She won't change her mind, she hates it there and she's been sleeping in a car for half the week to avoid it, if she was going to go back she would have done it already. I don't know what would possess her to look forward to moving in with you but it's all she's been talking about"

I find myself incredibly giddy that she's equally as ecstatic as I am.

"What if her mom kicks out her dad and begs her to stay"

Santana frowns, her brows furrowing during her thought process, "She still won't move in right away, she wants to build up their relationship again, not just right back into a bad one"

Everything that Santana is telling me makes perfect sense, I really have no reason to worry but it doesn't stop me from doing it all the same.

"Did I miss anything good?" Quinn asks as she slides her tray onto the table.

She sits next to me and looks at the three of us with questioning eyes.

"Berry wouldn't shut up about paint swatches and glitter, thank god you're back" Santana rolls her eyes.

Quinn beams at me and I see Santana wink before I turn to her.

I shrug, "I was just thinking of the perfect color to match your beautiful eyes"

Quinn blushes and begins to lean in, I squeeze her leg to remind her where we are and she backs up a bit.

"You're both disgusting" the Latina says from across the table.

"I think they're cute" Brittany adds

"I got you an apple" she says picking up the green apple and handing it to me bashfully.

"Thank you"

"What's up with everyone giving you apples, Berry?" Santana asks

I laugh, "I have no idea"

Quinn looks up curiously, "What do you mean?"

"Karofsky gave her an apple as an apology"

I watch Quinn's eyes as they transform to match whatever she's feeling. She's mad, maybe a little jealous, and definitely protective.

She starts to stand up until I put my hand on her shoulder; she sinks back into her chair.

"You sit down" I tell her playfully, "I didn't accept it, I don't like red apples"

I stare into her eyes, I know she's still semi-serious about going to find David to give him a piece of her mind but she's rooted here with me, and I'm making sure she understands this. Her muscles relax finally and she transforms back into the vulnerable girl that was holding me earlier this morning.

"I do! It was good" Brittany chimes in.

Quinn finally cracks a smile and turns to continue eating her food.

"Amazing" Santana mumbles under her breath.

Both Quinn and I look up to watch the Latina looking back and forth between us.

"What?" Quinn asks first

"I've seen that look in Q before, she wanted blood. All you did was touch her and she completely deflated."

I snap my head towards Quinn, I noticed that she calmed down but I didn't give much thought to the fact that I was the one that made her do it. Quinn is ducking her head trying to avoid my gaze.

"You're so completely whipped it isn't even funny" Santana chuckles, "Berry, how good in bed are you?" she asks me.

This time I duck my head. We haven't even made it passed kissing and cuddling. Quinn lunges at the girl from across the table and I have to yet again pull her back, I don't even realize that I'm doing it. Once again she relaxes as I whisper to her that it was okay.

Santana is chuckling again, "I can't believe we actually found Quinn Fabray's weakness"

I keep my hand gripped firmly on her forearm as I can feel her blood beginning to boil again, I know that Santana is just messing with her; it's just a part of their relationship.

"Lopez, you will not use this against her. Do you understand me? It will not be brought up again" I tell the girl pointedly.

She looks shocked that I've spoken these words and to her none the less, I don't have time to react to the words that just came out of my mouth.

"Fine" she replies through her teeth.

I feel Quinn laughing beside me and even Brittany looks to be hiding her giggles.

"I'm the whipped one?" Quinn asks with a smirk.

"And you" I turn to look at Quinn, her expression is that of a guilty seven year old caught teasing their younger sibling, "Don't you antagonize" I point to her.

I can see Santana sticking her tongue out at Quinn, I know that she wants to tell on her and I wonder how the table turned into a Kindergarten class.

"I bet Berry will make a good top" Brittany whispers rather loudly to Santana.

The entire table starts to laugh and I can't help but have a laugh at my own expense, and I wouldn't dare try to reprimand Brittany. Quinn leans her head on my shoulder as her laughter dies down and sighs contently.

Santana rolls her eyes as I take a healthy bite of my apple, making sure I give her the biggest grin I can possibly muster.

"You're just jealous"

* * *

"Are you sure you want to do this?" I ask, I've lost count of how many times I've asked this.

"Rachel, that is the 9th time you've asked me this since school ended" she clearly has a better memory recall, "Nothing is going to change my mind, I promise"

I smile as she takes our intertwined fingers and gives me a kiss on the back of my hand, we've been sitting in my car for nearly three minutes.

"I'm the one that wants to get out of the car and get this over with, do you want to stay here?" she asks.

Obviously she notices my apprehension, as the hours wounded down to this moment I felt more and more claustrophobic. It wasn't that I didn't want her to move in with me, I was just scared of her feeling rejection once more from the people that were supposed to love and protect her.

I finally swallow my hesitation and we get out of my car, we mutually decided that it would be best to drive my car, should they try to take Quinn's car away. Out of sight out of mind was the reasoning I gave her, once they saw her car they would realize that they were paying for it. She takes my hand as we walk up the pathway and she opens the large door leading to the foyer. I'm hit with the same feeling of coldness that I was hit with the day prior when I was here by myself. She squeezes my hand a little tighter and I give her a grateful smile.

"We'll be out of here soon" she whispers before she leads me to the staircase.

I close my eyes in order to hide the tears that are stinging my sockets; I don't want her to see how emotional I am right now. I know she needs me to be strong, and I don't want her to realize how weak I really am. Her words are so final, she doesn't even seem affected that she's about to leave her childhood home, and it's for the second time in less than a year. The only difference is that she wants to leave, which is the only reason I can come up with as to why she's okay with all of it.

She opens her bedroom door and I was right in my original analysis of her home, her room is the warmest part of this place. There's at least some trace of emotional attachment in her bedroom.

She drops my hand and walks over to her closet, pulling out a few duffel bags.

"I want to take anything and everything that you want" I tell her as I begin to walk around her room, "Anything that makes you feel at home"

She gives me a laugh as she walks out of the closet, "Barely anything in this room makes me feel at home. But okay, why don't you grab some picture frames, and definitely the books, all of them" she tells me

I nod and begin to gather up the black frames carefully before moving towards her bookshelf. Almost all of the books are tethered and worn, I wonder how many times she's resorted to these books to escape to an alternate reality. My heart aches once again and I bite down the urge to cry, telling myself that it can wait until I'm alone in the shower later.

There's a knock on the door before it swings open, my heart drops and by Quinn's reaction hers does as well.

"Alright bitches, where do you need us?" Santana asks as she walks into the room.

My hand clutches my chest as I regain my breathing. Quinn is relieved before she realizes what they're here for.

"What are you doing here? I told you I didn't want you here"

Santana rolls her eyes, getting reading to state her case.

"Quinn, I asked them to come"

She looks towards me, she feels betrayed and I know that I've hurt her by going behind her back.

"I know you told them not to but I figured that the more help we have, the faster we could leave" I stand and walk around the bed to where she's standing.

I take a hold of both of her hands, hoping that I can once again get her to calm down with my touch.

"We're just here to help you pack the car, we can leave right after if you want" Santana says softly from behind me.

Quinn gently pulls her hands from my grasp, she runs them through her blonde waves before running them over her face.

She nods to Santana and both Cheerios walk into her closet to grab the clothes that they want her to take with her.

Quinn takes a hold of my hands again, "Thank you" she whispers before giving me a kiss on my forehead.

I give her a small smile, "You're not mad at me?" I ask.

"Of course not"

She hugs me and we stay like this for a few long seconds until Santana's voice filters into the room from the closet.

"I'm burning this god-awful dress"

She grunts and releases me before she goes into the closet to tear the article of clothing away from her friend. I resume my task of packing up her books and whatever other decorations that I feel will go with the color scheme of her new bedroom. I'm tempted to take down the shelving but I neglected to bring my tool kit. I grab a few of her stuffed animals that I feel she would appreciate and even take the liberty to pack up her DVD collection; we could always use more movies. I start to smile when I think about the movie nights that we can have together and I realize that this is really happening, I smile wider. I move over to her desk and begin to pack up her laptop and anything that she would probably need to complete her homework assignments.

"How are you doing over here?" Quinn asks as she sneaks up behind me, "We're just about done" she tells me.

I gulp, it's about to happen.

"I'm just about done too, anything else you need?"

She smiles, "Just you"

Santana looks comical with three large duffel bags around her shoulders, "I'm bringing these down to the car" she announces before she makes her way down the stairs.

Brittany grabs the two bags I have of Quinn's accessories and follows Santana out of the door.

We study the room around us; it seems way emptier than it did twenty minutes ago.

"Hey"

I turn back to Quinn to see her looking at me, adoration all over her face.

"Hi" I whisper back.

She grabs my hand, "I want you to know, whatever happens next, I'm going home with you"

I inhale and close my eyes, when I open them I know she can see the tears that are once again accumulating.

"You're my girlfriend, and I'm going to do everything I can to protect you" she tells me, "And promise me, no matter what they say, please don't doubt that."

I'm so overwhelmed with emotions that I can't stop the tears from sliding down my cheeks, I can tell she's fighting back her own. She pulls me into her and a sob escapes my throat, I pull her closer to me.

"Sweetheart please don't cry, you're too beautiful to be upset" she rubs her palm over the back of my head.

"I'm not upset" I say into her chest. She pulls away to study my face, "These are happy tears I swear" I tell her and even try to laugh, it comes out pathetic.

She gives me a small smile, "You're adorable", she kisses my forehead.

"I'm your girlfriend" I look up to her

"You're my girlfriend" she replies smiling.

"And you're my girlfriend" I meant to ask, but it came out as a statement.

She nods. She understood.

"And I'm your girlfriend"

I give her the most passionate kiss I can gather, and she returns it easily. When we pull away it looks like she's started to cry, I quickly realize that it's only my tears that have transferred to her cheeks. She brings a hand up and wipes her eyes, maybe not.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to do this here of all places, but I figured I'd have at least one happy memory in this room to take with me" she gestures around.

"It was perfect" I tell her

She hugs me and we stay like this for a while, it's only when a booming voice rings through the foyer and up the stairs that we both feel the weight of reality crash down on us. Quinn tenses almost immediately and I only strengthen my hold on her, it's time for me to be the strong girlfriend that she needs right now. Those words run through my head and I have all the strength I need to do this.

She's rooted in place and I physically have to nudge her in order to get her to move, she walks down the stairs in front of me stone faced and expressionless.

"You'll be home soon" I whisper from behind her before we reach the bottom of the stairs.

Quinn takes my hand in hers as we reach the landing and pulls me down the hallway to where her father is taking off his coat.

"Quinn, are you going away for the weekend?" the man asks before turning around.

He's surprised to see someone else with her, his confused expression gets even worse when his eyes trail down to our intertwined hands.

"Not just for the weekend" she states.

Heels clack against the floor and soon Judy Fabray is standing before us.

"I didn't know we had company" she says looking between her daughter and I.

Her eyes also see our intertwined hands but before she can make a comment I butt in.

"It's nice to see you again Mr. and Mrs. Fabray" I tell them politely, never forgetting my manners even when putting myself in a suicidal position such as this one.

The woman nods, I'm assuming that's her way of replying.

Quinn squeezes my hand. Russell's eyes trail back up to land on his daughters.

"I'm moving out" she announces

Both parents nearly scoff, in fact her father is chuckling.

"What do you mean you're moving out? We just became a family again…are you pregnant again? Judy did you know about this?" he asks, his voice increasing in loudness.

"I'm not pregnant" Quinn says before her mother can answer.

Now they're really confused.

"And this isn't a family" Quinn boldly tells them, "We have never been a family"

My worry is increasing with each word that Quinn is speaking, the door is still open from when her father came in and I can see Santana pacing in the front yard.

"Quinnie, what are you talking about?" her mother's small voice asks.

She turns to meet her mother's eyes, "I'm sorry but I can't live here, I can't pretend anymore. I hate it here, and I can't live with him"

Though Quinn is talking about her father who is literally a few feet away from them, she keeps her eyes trained on her mothers.

"Excuse me" her father's voice thunders, I wince at the sound.

It scares me even more that Quinn isn't even disturbed by his tone, as if she's used to it. How much worse can it get?

"We've been getting along so well" her mother replies, ignoring her husband.

"I haven't even been living here for the past week" she admits.

"That's silly"

"It's true, I've been living in my car"

I can almost see her mother's realizations as she replays the last few nights in her mind. She brings her hand up to her mouth.

"So you're going to just continue to live in your car?" her father asks, he's finding this to be amusing.

My blood is heating up.

"Actually Sir, she's moving into my house" I speak up, Quinn's head snaps to me.

"I see" he runs his tongue around his cheek, "And just who are you?" he asks as he surveys me.

I back down, "I'm her friend", I feel as pathetic as I sound.

"Well Quinn's friend, we appreciate your hospitality, but our daughter is not leaving this house with you"

"The hell I'm not" Quinn rages as her father takes a step closer.

"I won't be spoken to that way in my own house" his voice is getting louder and louder.

Quinn takes a small step in front of me, moving me to stand behind her.

"I'm leaving with Rachel and I'm never coming back to this place as long as you're living here" Quinn tugs on my arm and I begin to move with her, the front door is so close but miles away with Mr. Fabray standing in our path.

"You're not going anywhere, go back to your room and say goodbye to your friend"

"Rachel's my girlfriend" Quinn replies after swallowing, my head snaps to hers.

Her father is laughing heartily now, "No daughter of mine is gay"

Quinn turns to me, "Trust me" she whispers before I feel her lips on mine.

She's pulled away from me all too soon, I look to see her being held by her arms in a white knuckled grip by her father. His veins are nearly popping out of his forehead and neck, and his eyes are practically red.

Quinn's staring up at her father with panic on her face and she attempts to struggle out of his grasp, beyond them I can see Santana making a beeline for the front door, her mother is wide eyed and I'm the same way.

He releases her and his arm cocks back. Quinn winces by default.

"Get out" Her mother's voice rips through the silence.

Everyone turns to look at her, she swallows.

"Get out right now" she points to the door.

I'm expecting to see Mr. Fabray grab his coat and follow his wife's orders.

She looks towards me, "Both of you get out of here", she says before looking at her daughter.

I find my footing and walk towards Quinn, she's staring at her mother shocked. I pull her into me and lead her out the door and down the front steps to where Santana and Brittany are waiting to comfort her.

Her face is still expressionless as I help her into the passenger seat of my car. As I walk back towards the driver side, Santana and Brittany are solemn. They get into their own car and I notice that they're following me to my house. As we pull into the driveway, Quinn doesn't make any effort to move, I unbuckle both of our seatbelts and lift her out. She's silent as I bring her up to my bedroom; she lies down and faces away from the door. I give her a kiss on the cheek and tell her I'll be back soon. She barely acknowledges me.

I walk down the steps and find my two fathers helping Santana and Brittany carry in the bags that we've just packed.

"How is she?" Santana asks after setting down one of the heavier ones.

"She's catatonic"

Brittany's about to open her mouth to say something but Santana stops her.

My father, Thomas, takes off his glasses and rubs his eyes, "Well she's just been dealt a huge emotional blow, she's going to need time to process it and she'll talk when she's ready" he replies, always looking to apply his doctorate in Psychology wherever he can.

We all pick up a bag and make our way up the steps to the guestroom, Quinn's bedroom.

"How bad was it?" my other father, Robert, asks once all the bags are on the bed.

"Daddy, he almost hit her" I say before realizing, "I didn't even do anything to protect her"

I feel the reality of my weakness crash down on me and it's no wonder why Quinn won't talk to me, she's probably disappointed with me.

Both my father's immediately tense and became their protective selves.

"I couldn't even protect her" I repeat softly.

"Rachel"

Everyone turns towards the door to find Quinn leaned up against the frame.

"Sweetheart" she whispers.

My Dad clears his throat, "Okay why don't we give these two some time to themselves, Girls," he turns towards Santana and Brittany, "I just made fresh iced tea, why don't we go down stairs and you can help us with dinner"

I keep my eyes on the hazel ones before me, she doesn't look away either.

"Does that mean we get to eat the dinner?" Brittany asks

Both of my fathers chuckle before guiding the two out of the room and passed Quinn.

Once they're out of the room and presumably down the staircase Quinn begins to walk towards me.

"How could you think that?" she asks, her voice breaking.

"It's true" I tell her

She moves passed me and sits on the bed, her new bed, and puts her head in her hands as they rest on her legs.

I turn to look at her, when she looks up her cheeks are covered in tears.

"I was so scared" she admits softly, "I was so scared that he was going to do something to you, I told you to trust me, and I put you in danger because of it"

I shake my head and take a seat next to her on the bed.

"You were the one who almost got hit"

"I don't care, when he was looking at me, when he raised his hand, all I could think about was how I could get you out of there. I'm so sorry"

"Why would you ever be sorry?" I ask

"What if he knocked me unconscious, how could I have stopped him from going after you?" she asks.

"Santana was foaming at the mouth by the time she got to us, he wouldn't have gotten the chance"

She showed a small smile, "I never would have forgiven myself if something happened to you, if my mother didn't say anything, I don't, I don't know what I would have done"

I close my eyes and pull her into me.

"Let's not think about it because it didn't happen, and it won't"

She sighs, and I follow suit. I know she's not going to let this go for a while so we might as well get everything out in the air now.

"I thought you were mad at me" I tell her

She practically snaps her neck when she turns to face me.

"You weren't speaking, and I thought you were regretting everything that happened, that you made the wrong choice in being with me"

She looks like I physically just slapped her.

"I told you never to doubt my feelings for you"

I feel guilty.

"You're right. I'm sorry"

She pulls me into her.

"Is it the wrong time to bring up this irrational fear you have of worst case scenarios?"

I laugh at her joke, she's fairly good at lightening up a situation. If only she knew about imaginary dog Gene Kelly, she'd never let me live it down.

"Never. I will never regret anything that happened today" she picks up our previous conversation. "And you have nothing to apologize for"

"Okay" I whisper into her, "Are you going to be alright?"

"I have you, of course I'll be alright."

I smile, "You will always have me. But I know you need time to process everything so I won't push you" I tell her.

She sighs and leans back into some of the bags that are behind her, "I was expecting to be kicked out, it doesn't mean that it hurt any less when I was." She pauses, "I know I should feel more upset but I can't bring myself to" she pauses again, a little longer this time, "and it's because of you" she smiles

"Talk about dramatic effect" I laugh and she cracks a wider smile.

"You're rubbing off on me" she pulls me down onto the bags with her, "But I mean it, thank you"

I give her a kiss and we lay still for a little while.

"So…welcome home" I gesture to the ceiling.

I feel her smile next to me. I lay my arm across her stomach and pull her closer.

I can hear laughter filtering up the staircase.

"We should get downstairs before Brittany says anything too offensive to my fathers" I tell her.

She groans, "Fine. But only because the smell of dinner is far too tempting"

I hit her stomach and jump to my feet, she catches my hand and whirls me around into her as she stands.

"I can't wait to go shopping with you" she tells me, brushing some of the hair that's managed to get into my eyes.

I beam up at her and reach on my tippy toes to kiss her forehead, "You will regret ever saying that, Darling"

She laughs and we walk hand in hand out of her bedroom door and down the stairs. Four pairs of eyes look up as we reach the bottom; they're sitting around the living room looking hesitant when they see us.

Both of my fathers stand and walk over to us. They each give Quinn a hug which she returns easily.

"We're both very proud of you"

She smiles at them and ducks her head, feeling bashful.

"Daddy stop, you're embarrassing her" I tell them when she hides into my shoulder, "Is dinner almost ready?"

"We were just waiting on you" he smiles before gesturing for the other two cheerleaders to stand up.

The six of us make our way into the Dining room and sit down to begin eating, myself and Quinn on one side, Santana and Brittany on the other and both my father's at the head of the table.

"So what had all of you laughing earlier?" I ask after everyone's food is on their plate.

The four others look around to each other, I catch Santana's smirk.

"I don't think we want to know" Quinn whispers and it causes them to laugh again.

Santana and Brittany left after the cake. My fathers, well Dad, decided to bake Quinn a _welcome home_ cake, my other father can't be seen in a kitchen. No one would budge when Quinn protested blowing out the candles that were so strategically placed around the circular cake. Quinn laughed and tried to hide her embarrassed face in her hands as everyone cheered. After the girls left, I sent Quinn up to take a shower, knowing that it would be highly therapeutic for her. She's never one to adhere to my demands without a little bribery, it was only after I promised that we could watch a movie after she got out, did she finally agree to take a shower.

I feel giddy all over as I look through some of her DVDs, placing top choices on the side of her bed. I hear the doorbell and my panic mode switches on as it chimes through the quiet house. I look towards the clock hanging in the room, it was almost 8pm. The only people that ring your doorbell unexpected after 7 pm are potential murderers and police officers telling you that your dog was run over. I shake away any bad thoughts, Quinn already called me out on my irrational fears, I didn't want to give her any more ammo.

I walk down the steps until I can see the front door clearly, my irrational fears have just been proven rational as I recognize the voice of Quinn's mother. I want to turn around and warn Quinn, maybe grab my emergency 'fire' bag, the bag I keep of all my prized possessions should there be a fire and I have only enough time to grab one thing, and jump out the window with her.

Quinn is already dressed and walking out of the bathroom by the time I get back into her room.

"Everything okay? Who was at the door?"

Before I can open my mouth, my father's voice travels up the steps.

"Quinn, you have a visitor"

Quinn's eyes are wide as she looks at me.

"Who is it?" she asks.

"Your mom" I tell her.

Her face goes even paler.

"Is he with her?"

I don't miss the blatant avoidance of her father's name.

I shake my head, "I don't know"

She closes her eyes, and takes a deep breath.

"I can do this" she says out loud, more to herself.

She walks out of the room, and I follow her down the steps. By the time we get down there, Mrs. Fabray is in the living room, politely declining my father's offer for something to eat or drink.

"What are you doing here?" Quinn asks, "I'm not going back with you", she adds

Everyone's head turned at the girl's strong voice.

Her mother looks hurt before she quickly covers it up with a sad smile, "I just wanted to talk dear"

Quinn looks toward me, her eyes silently asking me for advice. I nod.

"Stay with me" she begs lowly.

I want to give in but I know what she needs to do, "You can do this, I'll be in the next room. Just call my name and I'll be next to you in a heartbeat, okay?"

She nods and looks towards her mother.

I walk into the kitchen after my fathers and they put on a pot of water to make their evening tea. I stand as close as I can get to the opening of the kitchen in order to hear better.

"Rachel" my dad whispers harshly.

I wave my hand behind me and tell him to shut up.

"Why are you here?" Quinn asks softly.

"Your father is passed out on the couch"

"That doesn't tell me anything"

"I needed you to know why I did what I did"

"You mean, why you kicked me out, again?"

"I didn't kick you out"

Quinn scoffs.

"I know I'm not a good mother, I know that you deserve so much better. When I saw him raise his hand to you I realized that if I wanted to call myself a mother at all, I needed to protect you from him, I needed to get you out of that house. Please don't think that I kicked you out, I just needed to get you as far away from there as possible. Please understand why I did it, I couldn't have you or your girlfriend around him"

"Mom I,"

"Shh it's okay, you don't need to say anything, I just needed you to know"

"What are you going to do now?"

"I'm going to file for a divorce"

The words hang in the air between them.

"Don't cry sweetheart, I should have done it a long time ago." Her mother says softly.

I hear Quinn sniffle.

"Here"

"What is this?"

"It's a check. Give that to Rachel's fathers, they can use it as allowance to you or for food and clothing. It's up to them, and I'll send money twice a month."

"This is way too much"

"Nonsense, they're housing another child, and you have expensive taste like your mother"

Quinn laughs.

"Thank you, for doing this and understanding."

"It's the very least I can do, and it's not even a lot. I'm sorry"

"All I want is your acceptance"

"You already have it"

It's silent for a few moments.

"I also came to say goodbye for a while"

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to stay with your grandmother in Texas for a while. Just until everything settles with the divorce." She pauses, "Ya know, maybe you and Rachel can visit for Christmas break, maybe over the Summer as well. If you'd like to, that is"

"That would be nice, wouldn't it Rachel?"

My eyes widen, how is it that I'm always so enthralled with the conversations I'm eavesdropping on that I'm always caught off guard.

I hear Quinn's amused laugh, "I know you're up against the wall"

I clear my throat and count to 5 Mississippi's before I step into view.

"I don't know what you're talking about"

She beams at me through some lingering tears and gestures for me to join them.

"Mom, this is Rachel. She's my girlfriend"

"It's nice to meet you again Mrs. Fabray" I hold my hand out.

She takes it without hesitation and gives me a genuine smile.

"It's nice to meet you again as well. Now, for the interrogation"

"Mother" Quinn spoke through gritted teeth.

"It's okay Quinn, I am fully prepared to state my case as to why I'm the most worthy suitor. I can have a power point ready in 20 minutes if need be" I tell them both seriously.

Quinn smiles wide and laughs.

"That won't be necessary, dear. Just a few requests if that's okay?"

I nod, "Do I have time to get my notebook and pen out?" I ask, determined to run up the steps if I'm allowed to.

Quinn laughs again and pulls me into her.

"You keep my daughter safe, you don't allow her anywhere near Noah Puckerman, and you continue to make her smile like that"

I look at Quinn and give her a smile, "Easy"

She wrinkles her nose at me as she grins.

"And you" Mrs. Fabray turns to her daughter, "You treat Miss Berry with respect, you follow all of the Berry's house rules, and you keep Rachel away from Noah Puckerman as well"

We both laugh.

"I suppose I should go now, I'll be changing my telephone number, so check for a letter within a week or so"

"Okay" Quinn replies getting up.

I sit on the couch and watch the exchange.

"I love you"

Quinn pulls her mom into a hug, "I love you too, and thank you"

She gives her a smile before she makes her way towards the door.

"We'll see you for Christmas, Mrs. Fabray" I speak up from the couch.

She gives me a thankful smile before she closes the door softly behind her.

My father's walk in from the kitchen almost as soon as the door shuts.

"We're so proud of you Quinn, you too Rachel"

Quinn plops down next to me on the couch and I give her a chaste kiss in front of my father's.

"Now we had our suspicions, you know, that you two were more than friends. And now that it has just been confirmed…"

Quinn's eyes widen, and I'm trying to recall in my mind the interactions we've had in front of my father's in the past day or so. Surely we told them, didn't we?

"Oh my god, Mr. and Mr. Berry, I'm so sorry" Quinn starts profusely apologizing.

I find this entire situation extremely humorous.

She turns to me with a hushed whisper, "I thought they knew! Why wouldn't you tell them?"

I start laughing uncontrollably as she blushes.

"This isn't funny!"

"You're right" I tell her, biting my lip hard to contain my laughter, it's not working at all.

"What exactly are your intentions with our daughter" my Dad asks. The fact that he's trying to look intimidating behind his signature eyeglasses is making it very difficult to keep up this grilling charade.

Quinn literally looks like she's about to jump out of her skin as she swallows.

My dad's can't keep their faces straight anymore and begin to laugh as well. I know that I didn't tell them we were a couple but they are the last people to care.

"Quinn, calm down. It's okay"

"Please don't kick me out" Quinn says, handing my dad the check her mother just gave her, "Here"

My father's look towards each other as their laughter subsides.

"Is this a bribe?" one of them asks amused.

"No, not at all, Sir."

He hands it back to her, "You're a part of this family now, we will never kick you out, and we will never take your mother's money. This is for you and you are allowed to do with it as you please"

"Are you sure?" she asks.

"Of course we're sure."

She turns to look at me, handing me the check, "I believe I have a bedroom to decorate" she says with a smile.

"Shopping!" I squeal

She crinkles her nose again in an adorable smile and leans in to give me a kiss.

When we pull away breathlessly, both my father's are gone. And the lights are suspiciously dimmed.

"I know we said we'd watch a movie but can we just lay here for a while?" she asks me

"Of course, let's discuss options of where to meet each other tonight"

She laughs, "You really liked that whole thing didn't you, Princess?"

"You give me butterflies when you call me that" I tell her.

She smiles, we've shifted and rearranged ourselves in order to get more comfortable. Her arm is wrapped securely around me as I snuggle up next to her.

She leans in closer, taking my bottom lip into her mouth.

"Princess"

I shudder. "That was mean"

She pouts, "We can meet anywhere you want, as long as it's not in a bathroom"

"And as long as one of us isn't crying in it"

She smiles and pulls me closer to her so that I'm practically on top of her. It's hot. I need to take off the sweatshirt I'm wearing of hers but I don't want to move from this position. And I also don't want to take off her Cheerios attire that I'm adorning. I think it secretly turns her on.

"That seems like an eternity ago" she comments, "Thank god you walked into that bathroom"

"Thank god you weren't the janitor"

She's confused, I know she is. And I can't help but chuckle at my own little inside joke.

She doesn't bother understanding, she just gets me.

"I can't believe how much has changed, all in one day I got a girlfriend, I met my mother for the first time and I moved out of my house, it's rather exhausting"

I hit her collarbone and she laughs.

"Just think of what tomorrow has in store for us" I tell her

She sighs, "As long as you're by my side, I'll be alright"

I press my lips to the tip of her nose, her eyes flutter shut.

"We're both going to be alright"

She smiles before leaning in to kiss my forehead, "We're going to be just fine"

* * *

**End Scene. K! so thanks for reading! I've been flirting with the idea of a sequel, i'm not sure if i want to continue the story or not, if i did it would probably be a few years down the road, definitely in Quinn's POV, maybe a little bit of Rachels. I haven't decided. Is this something you'd like to read about? No promises that they'll be together a few years down the road, there would have to have some kind of conflict. So if you have any thoughts or things you'd want to see, you can let me know. **

**And, there's this new GLBT campaign called, "Sincerely, ME". It's a place for people to virtually come out, share their stories and read about other's tales and struggles. It also has a Gay version of post secret. It's entirely anonymous and I'm helping to promote it. Check it out. .org and the twitter is "_sincerely_me" **

**Have a good weekend!  
**


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